Search Help

How does this work?
There are many ways to search the collections of the Freedom Archives. Below is a brief guide that will help you conduct effective searches. Note, anytime you search for anything in the Freedom Archives, the first results that appear will be our digitized items. Information for items that have yet to be scanned or yet to be digitized can still be viewed, but only by clicking on the show link that will display the hidden (non-digitized) items. If you are interested in accessing these non-digitized materials, please email info@freedomarchives.org.
Exploring the Collections without the Search Bar
Under the heading Browse By Collection, you’ll notice most of the Freedom Archives’ major collections. These collections have an image as well as a short description of what you’ll find in that collection. Click on that image to instantly explore that specific collection.
Basic Searching
You can always type what you’re looking for into the search bar. Certain searches may generate hundreds of results, so sometimes it will help to use quotation marks to help narrow down your results. For instance, searching for the phrase Black Liberation will generate all of our holdings that contain the words Black and Liberation, while searching for “Black Liberation” (in quotation marks) will only generate our records that have those two words next to each other.
Advanced Searching
The Freedom Archives search site also understands Boolean search logic. Click on this link for a brief tutorial on how to use Boolean search logic. Our search function also understands “fuzzy searches.” Fuzzy searches utilize the (*) and will find matches even when users misspell words or enter in only partial words for the search. For example, searching for liber* will produce results for liberation/liberate/liberates/etc.
Keyword Searches
You’ll notice that under the heading KEYWORDS, there are a number of words, phrases or names that describe content. Sometimes these are also called “tags.” Clicking on these words is essentially the same as conducting a basic search.

Search Results

Interviews about George Jackson Interviews about George Jackson
Date: 9/6/1971Call Number: PM 097Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Grenada TVCollection: George Jackson
Camera Roll 11: interviews with Black Panthers who were incarcerated with George Jackson at San Quentin; discussing how other prisoners were encouraged by and respected George’s defiance of the State’s orders; talk about the hole and degrading mistreatment; discussion about the yard and racist pitting of groups against each other by guards ; discuss what kind of self-discipline George had and what kind you need once inside ; Camera Roll 12: a former inmate of San Quentin pointing out various elements of a prison on a diagram - not much good on audio only.
San Quentin prison yard San Quentin prison yard
Call Number: PM 123Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Mostly wild sound of prison yard. Difficult to make out conversations. White inmate in lower security block interviewed, discussing the level of security tightened within the prisons. Anger about the protesting on the outside. Background noise can hear another inmate talking about fascist system. Discusses the heightened security, weeks of lockdown, violence and mistreatment within San Quentin.
Alternative House interview Alternative House interview
Date: 9/14/1971Call Number: PM 125Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Great analysis of guards playing off of racial divisions among inmates. Guards broke up San Quentin strike after George’s death by targeting white prisoners in adjustment center playing them against black revolutionary prisoners. Retaliation for Davis’ death - using racial conflicts to the advantage of the administration to destroy the unity of the prisoners. Strong leaders on the inside were targeted and shipped out of prisons. Racism exists in San Quentin, but prisoners understand how guards use racism to keep them divided and less strong. Function of penitentiary rests upon individual inmate acknowledging the authority of prison administration. California prisons run so well and can keep expanding because of racism. Systematic brainwashing of these inmates, enslaving their minds and bodies.
International Human Rights Day, 1994 International Human Rights Day, 1994
Date: 12/2/1994Call Number: JG/ 088AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberProgram: A Defiant HeartCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
Interview with Judy Siff and Bill Crossman of Prairie Fire Organizing Committee about International Human Rights Day, 1994. International Human Rights Day, December 10, is a global holiday not well known in the U.S. that champions human rights for political prisoners. The U.S. focus of this year's campaign are the 150+ political prisoners held currently by the U.S. justice system, many of whom were social activists of the 1960's, 70's, 80's. Siff and Crossman stress that with political prisoners it is important to factor not what illegal actions they committed but rather what their conscience was. They deplore the suppression of popular information on political prisoners within the U.S that leads to a popular attitude of disbelief about the problem. They explore the cases of Mumia Abu Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Leonard Peltier, Sylvia Baraldini, and discus the Amnesty campaign for Puerto Rican prisoners of war. They note that any victory for any prisoner helps the effort as a whole and illustrate the grassroots efforts to shut down the inhumane Lexington, KY prison. They lament that the U.S. does not allow dissent because it gives abnormally long sentences to "freedom fighters." They offer info on how to support the campaign for human rights.
AIDS Education and Prisons AIDS Education and Prisons
Date: 6/12/1989Call Number: JG/ 126AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberProgram: Just PeaceCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
Chip Rowan, member of ACT UP! Atlanta, talks about HIV and sex education among prisoners in Leesburg, GA. He also speaks of the frequent segregation and stigmatization of many incarcerated HIV and PWA prisoners in the US.
Prison Labor Prison Labor
Call Number: PM 375Format: CassetteCollection: Prison Labor
Activists protest labor in prison, calling it slavery. Prisoners make far less than minimum wage and are subjected to hazardous work conditions. For example at the Folsom recycling plant, prisoners working there make very little money and are not even provided with gloves to protect their hands.
Judgement: An Open Letter to Attorney General Griffin Bell Judgement: An Open Letter to Attorney General Griffin Bell
Publisher: Alderson Hospitality HouseYear: 1978Volume Number: Vol. 2-2 JulyFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Mental Health
An Open Letter to Attorney General Griffin Bell from Milton G. Rector President on Crime and Delinquency is the featured article.