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

Passin’ It On: The Story of a Black Panther’s Search for Justice Passin’ It On: The Story of a Black Panther’s Search for Justice
Date: 1/1/1993Call Number: V 116Format: VHSProducers: John ValadezCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
About the same time the Black Panther Party entered the realm of the legendary, one of its favorite sons went to prison for the attempted murder of two white New York City police officers. While Richard Moore was serving over 19 years for a crime he swears he didn't commit, the Black Panther movement disintegrated because of FBI harassment and internal power sturggles. Now, Richard Moore is Dhoruba Bin Wahad. And he is a free man, the result of his conviction being overturned on the basis of "prosecutorial misconduct." Passin' It On vibrantly brings to life the history of the Black Panthers, and dramatically tells the story of Dhoruba Bin Wahad, offering an unforgettable window into the African-American experience.
Passin’ It On: The Story of a Black Panther’s Search for Justice Passin’ It On: The Story of a Black Panther’s Search for Justice
Date: 1/1/1993Call Number: V 269Format: DVDProducers: John ValadezCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Utilizing archival footage and personal accounts, PASSIN' IT ON offers insight into the politics which defined the generation that came of age during the Civil Rights movement. As many African-Americans - especially in urban centers like New York - sought rapid change in their communities, the Black Panthers emerged as a highly visible and often misunderstood symbol of this movement, and became targets for federal surveillance and police harassment. With testimonies from Dhoruba's attorneys, jurors at his trial, New York's then Deputy Police Commissioner, and Dhoruba himself, PASSIN' IT ON sheds light on the Panthers' real goals and addresses the much larger social issues which gave rise to the Panthers then, and which remain unsettled today. As it examines broad themes of urban African-American life, PASSIN' IT ON tells Dhoruba's personal story. Following him from his South Bronx childhood through his activist days, prison experiences, and his current renewed involvement in the black community, the film provides a framework for recognizing his story as a caution against the excesses of state power. At a time when racial conflicts may once again build to a head, PASSIN' IT ON offers a view of where American society has been, and a glimpse at where it may be going.
Police Accountability Police Accountability
Date: 4/16/1993Call Number: PM 343Format: Cass A & BProducers: KPFAProgram: BrainstormCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Features Babara Attard, then senior investigator with San Francisco's Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC), Suzanne Pegas, co-founder of Berkeley's Copwatch, and Carmen Johnson, political activist and board member of the MLK Housing Cooperative in San Francisco. They discuss the question of "How to police the police", the source of racist police policies, and where accountability resides in the police structure. Jerome Skolnick, affiliate of UC Berkeley School of Law and author of "Above the Law: Police and the Excessive Use of Force" also joins the discussion. He discusses "siege mentality" of the police, the code of silence in police departments, and the need for cops to relate to their communities.
State of Emergency - Inside the L.A.P.D State of Emergency - Inside the L.A.P.D
Date: 1/1/1993Call Number: V 334Format: VHSProducers: Julia Meltzer, Elizabeth CannerCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
On police brutality in the LA Police Department following the beating of Rodney King. Footage of police violence, also depicts communities working against the daily occupation of their neighborhoods.
The End of the Nightstick The End of the Nightstick
Date: 1/1/1993Call Number: V 364Format: VHSProducers: Peter Kuttner, Cyndi Moran, Eric SchollCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
For 20 years in Chicago, the press and authorities turned deaf ears to allegations of brutal interrogations and torture by Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. Victims speak out and the film investigates charges of institutional racism, violence and cover-up. It also tells the story of a resistance movement, as local activist groups, including the Task Force to Confront Police Violence, refuse to let testimonies of police violence remain buried.
Rodney King Demonstration and Dyke Zap National Coming Out Day Rodney King Demonstration and Dyke Zap National Coming Out Day
Date: 4/17/1993Call Number: V 568Format: Hi-8Producers: Lisa RudmanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Documents the heavy police presence at a demonstration in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco against the Rodney King verdict. dyke zap at Fruitvale BART station by Women Against Imperialism who agitate and raise awareness about lesbian parenting in response to high profile cases across US of lesbian parents losing custody of their children.