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

Julius Nyerere speech Julius Nyerere speech
Call Number: KP 077Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: African liberation movements
Julius Nyerere, the man who united the former Tanganyika Colony with the Zanzibar Protectorate to found the Republic of Tanzania, gives a speech about the historical relationship of the United States to Africa, citing its hypocritical support of segregationist South African dictatorships. He talks of the need for Africans to rule by justice, equality, and majority rule. He also welcomes President Carter’s pressure on South Africa.
Winnie Mandela and the anti-Apartheid movement Winnie Mandela and the anti-Apartheid movement
Call Number: KP 048AFormat: Cass AProgram: KPFACollection: African liberation movements
1988 or 1989: Alice Walker facilitates a discussion between Paris Williams, Pearl Alice Marsh, Joyce Carrol Thomas, and Angela Davis about their thoughts on the accusation that Winnie Mandela’s bodyguards beat a South African boy. They discuss the media, racism, and sexism (sexism within the anti Apartheid movement as well as among Apartheid supporters). The tape starts and ends in the middle of a sentence.
Winnie Mandela and the anti-Apartheid movement Winnie Mandela and the anti-Apartheid movement
Call Number: KP 048BFormat: Cass BProgram: KPFACollection: African liberation movements
(same as KP 048a) 1988 or 89: Alice Walker and Bernice Johnson Regan reading from Winnie Mandela’s autobiography, “Part of My Soul Went With Him.” Johnson reads the chapter titled “No Human Beings Can GO On Taking Those Humiliations Without Reaction.” Begins and ends in the middle of a sentence.
PAC Chairman  Nyati Pokela  interview (Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa) PAC Chairman Nyati Pokela interview (Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa)
Date: 11/13/1982Call Number: AFR 009AFormat: Cass AProgram: Songs of FreedomCollection: South Africa
Judy Jensen of the Material Aid Campaign for ZANU interviews the Chairman of South Africa’s PAC (Pan Africanist Congress). Nyati Pokela speaks about the history and purpose of the PAC and explains what Bantustans are and why they were created. He explains why the PAC and the ANC (African National Congress) deem it necessary to engage in armed struggle against the Apartheid government, and how the PAC’s leaders lead by example by taking risks for the cause. Pokelu details the role of women in the struggle and the conditions of the black population of South Africa, and explains the unequal development of different African countries toward independence. He talks about the similarities between the struggles in South Africa and the US, and calls for solidarity with the PAC and Africa’s cause.
Samouri Marksman on African and Caribbean People Samouri Marksman on African and Caribbean People
Date: 1/16/1985Call Number: AFR 012Format: Cass A & BProgram: African Activists in AmericaCollection: Africa- General Resources
Michael Warren, chairman of African Activists in America, speaks about Maurice Bishop, and introduces Samouri Marksman. Marksman speaks about struggles of African people around the world; how Europeans control Latin American economies, cultures, and societies, and the struggle for Latin American independence; the struggle to alter the slave relationship with Europeans in the Caribbean and Africa; criticizes the IMF (International Monetary Fund) ; and American politics in South Africa and the struggle against Apartheid.
Peter Jones on Steve Biko Peter Jones on Steve Biko
Date: 12/17/1986Call Number: AFR 015Format: Cass A & BProgram: Jacobin ProgramCollection: South Africa
Peter Jones of AZAPO (Azanian People’s Organization) speaks about Steve Biko & the Black Consciousness Movement. He speaks about the 1960s era of heightened political agitation and the Soweto Uprisings of 1976. Jones talks about the ANC (African National Congress) and the PAC’s (Pan African Congress) role abroad and at home, and how AZAPO has taken over where the Black Consciousness Movement has left off. He discusses the possible role of non-blacks (whites with a conscience) to the cause of liberation. He also links the Black student struggle to community struggles.
Diane Lacey interviews Judy Jensen of Material Aid Campaign for ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) Diane Lacey interviews Judy Jensen of Material Aid Campaign for ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union)
Call Number: AFR 017BFormat: Cass BProducers: WWRL New YorkProgram: Black Dialogue ProgramCollection: Zimbabwe
Jensen speaks about changing American’s attitudes toward Southern Africa, and the Material Aid Campaign’s “Dollars for Bullets” Campaign. The Campaign supports the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe and also SWAPO’s (Southern African People’s Organization) call for United Nations sanctions against South Africa.
Peter Jones of AZAPO (Azanian People’s Organization) Peter Jones of AZAPO (Azanian People’s Organization)
Date: 12/17/1986Call Number: AFR 018Format: Cass A & BProgram: Jacobin ProgramCollection: South Africa
Peter Jones, of Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO), speaks on the Black Consciousness Movement, the struggles of the black community in South Africa, and current political and social conditions. Same as AFR 015A
Peter Jones of AZAPO (Azanian People’s Organization) Peter Jones of AZAPO (Azanian People’s Organization)
Date: 12/17/1986Call Number: AFR 019BFormat: Cass BProgram: Jacobin ProgramCollection: South Africa
Peter Jones of Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO) speaks on life in the black townships in South Africa, current political climate under white rule, and the role of students in the struggle. Same as AFR 015B
Solidarity with Zimbabwe’s Struggle for Liberation Part 1 Solidarity with Zimbabwe’s Struggle for Liberation Part 1
Call Number: AFR 021Format: Cass A & BCollection: May 19th Communist Organization
Sylvia Baraldini, national director of the May 19th Communist Organization, shows slides of about the struggle for the liberation of Zimbabwe and her trip with ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union). Another speaker about the history of the struggle in Zimbabwe and the imperialist white rule in South Africa and Rhodesia. Luis Rosado of the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War speaks about Puerto Rican solidarity with those struggling in Zimbabwe.