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

Medical neglect: genocide within the PIC, Critical Resistance- Beyond the PIC Medical neglect: genocide within the PIC, Critical Resistance- Beyond the PIC
Call Number: PM 284Format: Cass A & BProducers: PARCCollection: Medical Care In Prison
This is a 1998 taping of a workshop presented by PARC and moderated by Lauren Jones. Scott Kosa (sp?), a prison healthcare reform advocate and former prison social worker, explains causal factors in why corrective facilities hyave failed in response to HIV and healthcare and also addresses issues the PIC ignores. Pamela Africa, minister of defense of the MOVE organization, reflects on her and other MOVE members' experiences inside prison, medical neglect and deprivation. Judy Greenspan, director of PAssionate Release, uses the story of Ronnie Sappington to address the brutality of medical neglect.
Prison Corruption Prison Corruption
Date: 11/4/1996Call Number: PM 290Format: Cass A & BProducers: Prison Activist Resource CenterProgram: On The OutsideCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Coverage of prison corruption, treatment of prisoners and an anti-police brutality rally.
Torture of Women Prisoners in California Torture of Women Prisoners in California
Call Number: PM 291Format: Cass A & BCollection: Prisons - Women
Kathryn Campbell, Millard Murphy, and Maria Telesco, discuss the torture of women in California prisons, specifically in Chowchilla. They highlight the lack of medical care and attention and discuss how humiliation, degradation, and breaking of one's spirit are used to control prisoner. A culture of violence runs the California prison system.
Interview with Ezra Davis Interview with Ezra Davis
Date: 1/1/1996Call Number: PM 298 AFormat: Cass ACollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Ezra Davis speaks about his experiences as an inmate with HIV/AIDS and general conditions at CMF Vacaville for inmates with medical conditions.
Chowchilla - Women's Prison Chowchilla - Women's Prison
Call Number: PM 296Format: Cass A & BCollection: Prisons - Women
Demonstrators demand proper medical care given to women prisoners in Valley State Prison. Chants challenge the government and politicians who neglect prisoners' rights. Ex-prisoners talk about being HIV positive in prison and speakers demand change.
Medical Neglect Medical Neglect
Date: 1/1/1995Call Number: PM 302Format: Cass A & BProducers: Prison Activist Resource CenterProgram: Prison Activist RadioCollection: Medical Care In Prison
Prison Activist Radio discuss the battle for medical care and healthcare rights for prisoners. Judy Greenspan, director of HIV/AIDS in Prison Project and member of California Coalition for Women Prisoners, speaks about the lack of women's healthcare in prisons, the serious medical conditions that men and women prisoners enter the system with, and the hostility of doctors, officials, and guards towards prisoners. She also discusses prisoner-activist Joanne Walker and the effective campaign for HIV/AIDS care and medical rights. Jean Stewart, from the Disabled Prisoner's Justice Fund and ADAPT discusses the abuses suffered by prisoners with disabilities. She also discusses health care issues, including the Armstrong and Shumate cases. Stewart states that the biggest problem with medical justice is the public's ignorance of people with disabilites.
Compassionate Release Compassionate Release
Date: 1/1/1998Call Number: PM 300Format: Cass A & BProducers: Prison Activist Resource CenterProgram: On The OutsideCollection: Prisons - Women
The case of Patricia Contreras, a Native American HIV/AIDS patient, seeking compassionate release from prison. Medical neglect in prisons is also discussed.
Patricia Contreras Rally Patricia Contreras Rally
Date: 1/1/2000Call Number: PM 308AFormat: Cass ACollection: Medical Care In Prison
California rally in support of Patricia Contreras requesting she be granted a compassionate release from prison. She is a terminally ill prisoner with AIDS and wants nothing more than to die outside of prison. Demonstrators also challenge the poor medical care given to prisoners.
Medical Neglect, Control Units, Women in Prison Medical Neglect, Control Units, Women in Prison
Date: 10/21/1996Call Number: PM 309Format: Cass A & BProducers: Prison Activist Resource Center PARCProgram: Prison Activist RadioCollection: Prisons - Women
News about the prison industrial complex and prisoners. Judy Greenspan, director of HIV/AIDS in Prison Project, about compassionate release and women with AIDS. Also Catherine Campbell, an attorney with California Prison Focus, discusses the culture of violence at prisons, verbal provocations by the guards, mandates to confine members of rival gangs in same yard. Jean Stewart from the Disabled Prisoners' Justice Fund discusses the Armstrong case and the growing, neglected population of disabled prisoners and its causes. Karen Shain from Legal Services for Prisoners with Children speaks about women in prison and the class action law suits that are filed for work release, prenatal care, mother and infant programs, HIV. Herman Bell of the New York Three and former member of the Black Panther Party, discusses the need for support of political prisoners.
Chain Gangs Chain Gangs
Date: 1/1/1996Call Number: PM 330Format: Cass A & BProducers: Prison Activist Resource CenterProgram: On The OutsideCollection: Prison Labor
Prisoner Michael Lamar Powell speaks and reads excerpts of his writing about the reinstatement of chain gangs in Alabama in 1995.