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

Geronimo Pratt Interview Geronimo Pratt Interview
Date: 10/26/1992Call Number: PM 087Format: CassetteCollection: Geronimo Pratt
Pratt talks about his life pre Black Panther Party: growing up in Louisiana, family life, KKK, service in Vietnam and enrollment in UCLA. At UCLA he is roommates with Black Panther Party Minister of Defense Bunchy Carter. After Bunchy Carter’s murder Pratt takes his place. He talks about government repression, COINTELPRO, relations with other New Left Organizations and role of women and sexism in the Party. Then the interviews follows his arrest and conviction of murder in 1970, he was in the hole from 70-’78. Pratt discuss becoming a New Afrikan, the role of armed national liberation struggle and role of struggle within the legislative realm. He discusses youth anger and education in the 90’s, LA rebellions, prison industrial complex, and political prisoners.
Activism inside and outside of prison Activism inside and outside of prison
Date: 2/7/1992Call Number: PM 183Format: Cass A & BProducers: The Prison Radio ProjectProgram: You can’t jail the spiritCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Last part of a 13 series program on prisons in the United States. The series explores the lives and experiences of political prisoners, POWs, and incarcerated activists. Prisons today, it argues, are the government’s response to societal problems such as unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and immigration. In this tape in particular Jude Tilman talks to different activists: Thelma Clark, Judy Greenspan, Muhjah Shakir, and Michael Snedecker.
Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War
Date: 1/10/1992Call Number: LA 050Format: Cass A & BProducers: Noelle Hanrahan (in assoc. with Gloria Alonzo), Jane Segal, J. Mullins, Bo (Rita D.) BrownProgram: You Can’t Jail the Spirit: Political Prisoners in the USCollection: Puerto Rico
Part of a thirteen part series (You Can’t Jail the Spirit). Interviews with PR PPs/POWs over prison phones and Puerto Rican Independentista activists and academics. Intro by Gloria Alonzo, Interviews by Avotcha. Recorded voices of Felix Mata, then Umberto Pagan (recorded at 1989 Grito de Lares Event in San Francisco). Interviews with Rafael Cancel Miranda, Dylcia Pagan (POW talking from prison), Jose Lopez (re: MLN today), Adolfo Matos (POW talking from Lompock Penintentiary). Music. Interview with Margarita Mengal (professor, talking on Ofensive ‘92). (duplicated on LA 070)
Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War
Date: 1/10/1992Call Number: LA 067AFormat: Cass AProducers: Noel Hanrahan (in assoc. with Gloria Alonzo), Jane Segal, J. Mullins, Bo (Rita D.) BrownProgram: You Can’t Jail the Spirit #9: Political Prisoners in the USCollection: Puerto Rico
(Incomplete Duplicate of LA 050). Part of a thirteen part series (You Can’t Jail the Spirit). Interviews with PR PPs/POWs over prison phones and Puerto Rican Independentista activists and academics. (Missing LA050’s Intro by Gloria Alonzo, interviews with Felix Mata, Umberto Pagan (recorded at 1989 Grito de Lares Event in San Francisco), and Rafael Cancel Miranda). Does include interviews by Avotja with Dylcia Pagan (POW talking from prison), Jose Lopez (re: MLN today), Adolfo Matos (POW talking from Lompock Penintentiary). Music. Interview with Margarita Mengal (professor, talking on Ofensive ‘92).
Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War
Date: 1/10/1992Call Number: LA 070Format: Cass A & BProducers: Noel Hanrahan (in assoc. with Gloria Alonzo), Jane Segal, J. Mullins, Bo (Rita D.) BrownProgram: You Can’t Jail the Spirit: Political Prisoners in the USCollection: Puerto Rico
(Duplicate of LA 050.) Part of a thirteen part series (You Can’t Jail the Spirit). Interviews with PR PPs/POWs over prison phones and Puerto Rican Independentista activists and academics. Intro by Gloria Alonzo, Interviews by Avotcha. Recorded voices of Felix Mata, then Umberto Pagan (recorded at 1989 Grito de Lares Event in San Francisco). Interviews with Rafael Cancel Miranda, Dylcia Pagan (POW talking from prison), Jose Lopez (re: MLN today), Adolfo Matos (POW talking from Lompock Penintentiary). Music. Interview with Margarita Mengal (professor, talking on Ofensive ‘92).
Voices from Death Row Voices from Death Row
Publisher: The Other SideYear: 1992Volume Number: September-OctoberFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Death penalty
Periodical focusing on illuminating the voices of those on death rows across the United States
USP Florence-Pelican Bay SHU USP Florence-Pelican Bay SHU
Date: 1/1/1992Call Number: V 427Format: VHSCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Story on CNN in the 1990s. ADX Florence has been called “the Alcatraz of the Rockies” and CNN repeats the official government position that ADX Florence - the worst control unit prison - is a "place for prisoners who have committed crimes against other prisoners." One of the interviewee’s is political prisoner Oscar López-Rivera. Special on Pelican Bay by 60 Minutes. Interviews include several prisoners and prison guards about their experiences in Pelican Bay. It also recounts how prisoners sued the state of California for human rights violations and torture.
Puerto Rican POWs Puerto Rican POWs
Date: 7/16/1992Call Number: C 10 043Format: Mini DVCollection: COINTELPRO 101 Raw Materials
Interviews from FCI Dublin of two Puerto Rican political prisoners.
Premeditated Execution: The Supreme Court is the death penaltys final arbiter, but the US must decide what it achieves Premeditated Execution: The Supreme Court is the death penaltys final arbiter, but the US must decide what it achieves
Author: Hendrik HertzbergPublisher: Time MagazineDate: 5/18/1992Volume Number: 18-MayFormat: ArticleCollection: Death penalty
Reproduction of original article
Control Unit Prisons, Racism and Political Repression Control Unit Prisons, Racism and Political Repression
Author: Ward ChurchillDate: 5/3/1992Volume Number: 3-MayFormat: TranscriptCollection: Control Units
Reproduction of transcript from speech given by Ward Churchill on the topic of control units.