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

Robert F Williams - Self Respect, Self Defense & Self Determination Resource Guide TEXT and GRAPHICS Robert F Williams - Self Respect, Self Defense & Self Determination Resource Guide TEXT and GRAPHICS
Date: 3/24/2005Call Number: RFW 068Format: CDProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Robert F. Williams!
We have no legal rights to reproduce or distribute this item! RFW Book Resource Guide - Final Layout and graphic design in ‘In Design’
Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power
Date: 1/1/2005Call Number: V 566Format: DVDProducers: Sandra Dickson, Churchill RobertsCollection: Robert F. Williams!
Robert F. Williams was the forefather of the Black Power movement and broke dramatic new ground by internationalizing the African American struggle. Negroes with Guns is not only an electrifying look at an historically erased leader, but also provides a thought-provoking examination of Black radicalism and resistance and serves as a launching pad for the study of Black liberation philosophies. Insightful interviews with historian Clayborn Carson, biographer Timothy Tyson, Julian Bond, and a first person account by Mabel Williams, Robert’s wife, bring the story to life. Robert Franklin Williams was born in Monroe, North Carolina in 1925. As a young man he worked for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1944—where he learned to take up arms. Back in Monroe, Williams married Mabel Robinson, a young woman who shared his commitment to social justice and African American freedom. After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, Klan activity in Monroe skyrocketed, successfully intimidating African Americans and nearly shutting down the local chapter of the NAACP. Williams revived it to nearly 200 strong by reaching out to everyday laborers and to fellow Black veterans—men who were not easily intimidated. When repeated assaults on Black women in the county were ignored by the law, Williams filed for a charter from the NRA; the Black Armed Guard was born. During a 1957 integration campaign that faced violent white resistance, Williams’ armed defense guard successfully drove off legions of the Klan and electrified the Black community. In 1961, Freedom Riders came to Monroe, planning to demonstrate the superior effectiveness of passive resistance over armed self-defense. They were bloodied, beaten and jailed, and finally called on Williams for protection from thousands of rioting Klansmen. Despite the threatening mobs, Williams sheltered a white family from violence, only to be later accused of kidnapping them. Fleeing death threats, Rob and Mabel gathered their children, left everything behind and fled for their lives—pursued by FBI agents on trumped-up kidnapping charges. Williams and his family spent five years in Cuba where he wrote his electrifying book, Negroes With Guns and produced Radio Free Dixie for the international airwaves. They later moved on to China, where they were well received — but always longed for their forbidden home. In 1969, Williams exchanged his knowledge of the Chinese government for safe passage to the States. Rob and Mabel lived their remaining days together in Michigan where he died in 1995. His body was returned at long last to his hometown of Monroe, N.C.
No to Torture - 1 No to Torture - 1
Date: 12/8/2005Call Number: CD 531Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Former Panthers speak at a TransAfrica press conference about current grand jury repression against former Black activists.
No to Torture - 2 No to Torture - 2
Date: 12/8/2005Call Number: CD 532Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Former Panthers speak at a TransAfrica press conference about current grand jury repression against former Black activists.
Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson's American Journey Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson's American Journey
Date: 1/1/2005Call Number: V 235Format: DVDProducers: Abbey GinzbergCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
A timely and unforgettable story about one person’s commitment to integrity and human rights and his profound influence on the American judicial system. Riveting and thought-provoking film transports viewers through the inspiring life and work of one of the first African-American federal judges in the United States and chronicles the impact of his decisions on the lives of millions As the first black attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Kennedy Justice Department in the 1960’s, Henderson, fresh out of law school, confronted the intricate challenges of being a black man in authority within the largely all-white world of the American legal system. With rare and powerful archival footage SOUL OF JUSTICE offers viewers an intimate window into the world of the young lawyer as he grapples with tough choices, including the decision to loan a car to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a crucial act which which ultimately cost him his job.
Say it Plain Say it Plain
Date: 1/1/2005Call Number: CD 737Format: DVDProducers: Catherine Ellis, Stephen Drury SmithCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Speeches by: Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey , Mary McLeod Bethune, Walter White, Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Howard Thurman, Dick Gregory, Fannie Lou Hamer, Stokely Carmichael, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Hope Franklin, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Benjamin L. Hooks, Joseph Lowery, Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Johnetta Cole, Lani Guinier, Clarence Thomas, Randall Robinson, and Julian Bond.
The Organizer The Organizer
Date: 1/1/2005Call Number: CD 758Format: DVDProducers: Mike GrayCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
After the murder of Fred Hampton, follows the work of Panther Robert E Lee III. Takes place in Houston, TX where he returned to organize.
Race is the Place Race is the Place
Date: 11/1/2005Call Number: V 669Format: DVDProducers: Ray Telles, Rick Tejada-FloresCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Funny, angry and profound. A visual and verbal riff on race in America from a wide variety of artists, poets, rappers, performance artists and stand-up comics. Combines racially charged clips from old movies with interviews and performances. These pieces dare to examine one of the most emotionally explosive issues in American life, busting stereotypes by using humor and poetry to say things traditionally left unsaid.