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

Shut Down the Control Units Shut Down the Control Units
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: V 375Format: VHSProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
US policies at Marion violate the United Nation's Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners that were established for countries like Chile and South Africa. The control units at Marion often are used to silence political prisoners and those demanding prisoners rights.
CEML: Marion Conf 10-24-1987 Tape #3 CEML: Marion Conf 10-24-1987 Tape #3
Date: 10/24/1987Call Number: V 622Format: VHSProducers: CEMLCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Footage of a model control unit cell followed by the judges all speaking and rendering verdicts. Moderator: Nancy Kurshan. Judges: Betty Balanoff, Darla Bradley, Dave Dellinger, Bernard Headley, Sister Jean Hughes, Morton Sobell, Akinyela Umoja.
The History of Marion Prison The History of Marion Prison
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
This video, created by the Committee to End the Marion Lockdown in 1988, serves to provide historical context around the opening of Marion Prison in 1963.
The Lexington Women's Control Unit p.3 The Lexington Women's Control Unit p.3
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: Video ClipCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
This video continues to examine the women's control unit at Lexington Prison. Susan Rosenberg talks about some of the affects of prolonged isolation and the results of the federal lawsuit against Lexington are discussed.
The Lexington Women's Control Unit p.2 The Lexington Women's Control Unit p.2
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: Video ClipCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
This video discusses the conditions of Lexington Prison and how people end up in Lexington control unit. Contains a short interview with a doctor who speaks about the psychological affects of prolonged isolation.
Introduction to Marion Prison Introduction to Marion Prison
Publisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
This video, created by the Committee to End the Marion Lockdown in 1988, provides an introduction to Marion Prison, located in Marion, Illinois. Marion was the first control unit prison in the United States and this video outlines what makes Marion a control unit prison, what daily life looks like for men incarcerated in Marion and the complete power of Marion's staff.
Legacy of Torture Legacy of Torture
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Black Panther Party general
In 2005 several former members of the Black Panther were held in contempt and jailed for refusing to testify before a San Francisco Grand Jury investigating a police shooting that took place in 1971. The government alleged that Black radical groups were involved in the 34-year old case in which two men armed with shotguns attacked the Ingleside Police Station resulting in the death of a police sergeant and the injuring of a civilian clerk. In 1973, thirteen alleged "Black militants" were arrested in New Orleans, purportedly in connection with the San Francisco events. Some of them were tortured for several days by law enforcement authorities, in striking similarity to the horrors visited upon detainees in Guant