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

Oscar Mondragon - Frank Curil Interview Oscar Mondragon - Frank Curil Interview
Date: 4/6/1988Call Number: CV 263Format: Cass A & BProducers: Chuy VarelaCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Oscar Mondragon and Frank Curil discuss the UFW's third major grape boycott. Curil explains the union's stance on workers' rights, the new method of boycotting and the health risk of pesticides.
UFW Rally UFW Rally
Date: 10/19/1988Call Number: CV 274Format: Cass A & BProducers: Chuy VarelaCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Protesting the failure of the grand jury to investigate Dolores Huerta’s case against the police. Also discusses the second UFW grape boycott and nonviolent methods referencing Cesar Chavez’s 36-day hunger strike. Unions of agricultural workers outside of the US like the Jamaican Sugar Cane Workers are also discussed.
Cesar Chavez at Seiu Hall (1988) "Grapes of Wrath" Cesar Chavez at Seiu Hall (1988) "Grapes of Wrath"
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: CV 281Format: Cass A & BProducers: Chuy VarelaCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Carol Ruth Silver a civil rights veteran and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors speaks at a national gathering of Labor Councils. Cesar Chavez speaks detailing the “Grapes of Wrath” grape boycott that the United Farm Workers are organizing demanding that agricultural growers stop using 5 pesticides, and also demanding free elections - free of intervention and harassment. An initial pesticide ban sponsored by the growers in 1975, was reversed when Gov. George Deukmejian stopped enforcing it and opposed the expense of placing signs in the fields warning workers of active pesticide use.
United Farm Workers at UC Berkeley United Farm Workers at UC Berkeley
Date: 9/2/1988Call Number: CV 284Format: Cass A & BProducers: Chuy VarelaCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
UFW rally held at UC Berkeley to boycott grapes. Keynote speakers include Ron Dellums and Martin Sheen. A march from the campus goes to a Safeway store to protest their selling of grapes.