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

Interview with Herman Bell Interview with Herman Bell
Date: 8/31/1977Call Number: CD 541Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interviews with Herman Bell on August 31, 1977 at USP Marion. He speaks mainly about prison conditions, control units, behavior modification, the injustice of the prison system.
Interviews with Herman Bell Interviews with Herman Bell
Date: 9/16/1974Call Number: CD 542Format: CDProducers: KPFACollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interview done by Claude Marks with Black Liberation Army member Herman Bell. Bell discusses the need for organizing within the black community and the means of strengthening itself through resistance and struggle. The SLA and Black Liberation Army are discussed extensively. 6/13/1974 Compilation of interview clips with Herman Bell. Among the topics discussed are Bell’s bank robbery conviction in San Francisco, the history of black rebellions in America, and methods of encouraging people to organize and participate in revolutionary change. There are frequent references to the Black Liberation Army (BLA), Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), and the Weather Underground. Prison conditions and police harassment are also discussed. 9/16/1974 & 9/25/1974
Herman Bell Out-takes Herman Bell Out-takes
Date: 9/16/1974Call Number: CD 543Format: CDProducers: Claude MarksCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Herman Bell talks about Gerald Ford’s appointment and the double standard for justice in the US. Discusses the dehumanization and demasculinization of prisoners and alienation from work. Compares the experiences of native people during colonization to redevelopment of communities in cities at present. Discusses the process of moving people toward consciousness and the US Health Department’s pattern of genocide throughout history. 9/16/1974 Herman Bell talks about his conviction on three felony charges stemming from a Bank of America robbery in San Francisco. The New York Five case is discussed. Discusses means of struggle - sword/pen, reflects on history and future goals. 9/28/1974 Herman Bell talks about Marcus Foster’s assasination and CIA affiliation and the replication of South African aparteid in San Francisco. Discusses his arrest in New Orleans, the practices of intimidation and torture used by police in New Orleans, and the shooting of Twymon Myers in New York. 6/13/1974
KPFA Radio News Summary and Update on the San Quentin Six Trial. KPFA Radio News Summary and Update on the San Quentin Six Trial.
Date: 1/1/1976Call Number: KP 218BFormat: Cass BProducers: KPFACollection: George Jackson
Attorney for David Johnson, Frank Cox, filed an affidavit regarding Melvin Cotton Smith's role as a paid informant for the L.A. police department. The news summary gives a good and detailed history of the events surrounding George Jackson's death up to the circumstances involving the San Quentin Six. Included is information on James Carr, COINTELPRO, and the ideological split between Eldridge Cleaver and Huey P. Newton in the Black Panther Party. Contains excerpt of a recording of George Jackson talking three months before his murder, excerpts of an interview with Eldridge Cleaver in exile from Paris, and a telephone interview with Bob Gardner who witnessed the 1970 shootings of W. L. Nolan, Alvin Miller, Cleveland Edwards at Soledad Prison.
Racism in Boston and San Francisco in 1980 Racism in Boston and San Francisco in 1980
Date: 1/1/1980Call Number: LA 166AFormat: Cass ACollection: Black Liberation
A woman describes her experiences with racism growing up in Boston. She discusses her own racial-consciousness awakening during the integration busing crisis of the mid-1970s. She compares the racism in Boston with the more subtle racism in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other topics include the lack of real response of various local politicians concerning racism, a string of serial killer murders of black women in 1979 in Boston and Carter's recent defeat over Ted Kennedy in the Democratic Presidential Primary.
The Murder of Fred Hampton The Murder of Fred Hampton
Date: 1/1/1971Call Number: V 243Format: DVDProducers: Film Group of Chicago: Mike GrayCollection: Fred Hampton
Directed by Howard Alk. Produced by Mike Gray. Associate Producer: Emmett Grogan; Camera: Mike Gray, Howard Alk; Sound: Jones Cullinan, John Mason, Chuck Olin; Editor: Howard Alk; Assistant editors: Jones Cullinan, John Mason; Additional Photography: Gordon Quinn; Production Manager: Jim Dennett. In 1968 the Film Group, a Chicago production company, began filming a documentary about the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and their chairman Fred Hampton. A fiery orator, Hampton was only 20 years old at the time, but his electrifying words and actions were inspiring young Black people to demand respect and to insist that their power and voice be felt in local politics, in any politics. But Fred Hampton's dream included all people when he proclaimed in the voice of the prophet, "... if we don't stop fascism it'll stop us all." At that same moment the FBI/CIA was implementing their notorious domestic counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) aimed at illegally suppressing domestic dissent and aimed especially at growing radical political organizations like the Black Panther Party. One FBI memo stated their charge as the need to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unite and electrify the militant black antinationalist movement." Working with local police departments, the government moved against Black Panther chapters and leaders across the country. On December 4, 1969, in a predawn FBI-directed Chicago police raid, four Panthers suffered gunshot wounds, and Mark Clark and Fred Hampton were murdered. Within hours, Panthers arranged to get the Film Group crew into the scene and they were able to record the carnage. The film shows vividly what the police do to those who dare to openly, aggressively challenge government authority. In addition, the footage of the bloody, bullet-riddled wreckage directly contradicted the State's Attorney's version of the raid, and so filmmakers and Panthers came together to prove that Hampton had been the designated target of the violent, punitive raid. The film's inquiry pursues official spokesmen and traps them in their own lies and attempt at a cover-up of a brutal orchestrated assassination.
American Revolution 2 American Revolution 2
Date: 1/1/1969Call Number: V 244Format: DVDProducers: Howard Alk, Mike GrayCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
A gritty but essential documentary charting social turbulences in late 1960's Chicago. American Revolution 2 includes footage of the 1968 Democratic Convention protest and riot, a critique of the events by working class African-Americans in Chicago, and attempts by the Black Panther Party to organize poor, southern white youths on the city's north side. Using direct sound, a handheld camera, no script, black-and-white film stock, and natural lighting, the directors' no-frills approach appropriately reflects the raw energy of this upheaval.
Video of Conservative Feminism and Police Abuse Public Access Television Show Footage. Video of Conservative Feminism and Police Abuse Public Access Television Show Footage.
Call Number: V 262Format: VHSProgram: HOMECollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Begins with a segment from the late 1980s ABC mid-morning talk show Home. In this segment, Dr. Toni Grant discusses supposed intrinsic and immutable difference between men and women and declares that women should be mainly valued for their "Madonna Virtues" and rigid notions of "self respect". At 00:17:15 the video cuts to public access television show on "Police Abuse: Myth or Reality?" Guests include Don Wheeldon, Don Jackson of the NAACP and attorney John C. Burton.
The Neon Oven- The Chicago Eight The Neon Oven- The Chicago Eight
Date: 12/13/1969Call Number: KP 226Format: Cass A & BProducers: Lincoln BergmanProgram: KPFACollection: Chicago Conspiracy Trial
Attorneys and experts discuss the case the trial of Bobby Seale and the original "Chicago Eight." They compare the sentencing of the other members to the sentencing and courtroom treatment (bounding and gagging) of Bobby Seale by Judge Hoffman. Also briefly mentioned is the case of Fred Hampton murdered by authorities after they raided his home/Black Panther headquarters. Both Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were killed in this government attack.
1964 Speech by Malcolm X 1964 Speech by Malcolm X
Date: 1/1/1964Call Number: KP 230AFormat: Cass ACollection: Malcolm X
Malcolm X discusses Black Nationalism as the means to freedom for African Americans. He suggests bringing the U.S. government before a world court because of its treatment of African Americans. Speech begins at 1:59