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

Not Enough Space - San Francisco Opening graphics Not Enough Space - San Francisco Opening graphics
Date: 5/19/2006Call Number: M 052Format: CDProducers: Scott BraleyCollection: Master recordings
Scott Braley photographs of opening of San Francisco Mission Cultural Center exhibit of artwork by Puerto Rican political prisoners Carlos Alberto Torres and Oscar Lopez Rivera.
Freedom Archives - Agape Story Freedom Archives - Agape Story
Date: 1/9/2006Call Number: V 580Format: VHSProducers: Willie MonroeCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
ABC 7 News story on the freedom Archives as a project of the Agape Foundation.
Interview with Dennis Cunningham Interview with Dennis Cunningham
Date: 2/24/2006Call Number: JB 118Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Mellis interviews her father, Dennis Cunningham. He describes what it feels like to win the case, complexity of his relief, ominousness of victory based on current political setting, disappointment by lack of media/public response to verdict, how he felt having his daughter filming, feelings on his life work, his work with Black Panthers and Attica, activism vs. consciousness, his activism as a vocation and how he chose law.
Interview with Dennis Cunningham (II) Interview with Dennis Cunningham (II)
Date: 2/24/2006Call Number: JB 119Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Dennis Cunningham interview continued. Describes his disgust with Bush administration, the necessity to continue despite hopelessness (spirituality), how he got involved in case, explains FBI's claims, Geronimo Pratt's and Fred Hampton's case, and COINTELPRO documents.