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

Interviews with Papusa Molina and Polly Lin Interviews with Papusa Molina and Polly Lin
Date: 4/11/1989Call Number: SS 156AFormat: Cass AProducers: Sue SuprianoCollection: Sue Supriano Interviews and Programs
Interview with Papusa Molina and Polly Lin from Women Against Racism.
W.I.N.G.S- Women’s International News Gathering Service Report W.I.N.G.S- Women’s International News Gathering Service Report
Date: 11/11/1989Call Number: JG/ 038BFormat: Cass BProducers: Judy GerberCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
WFRG Judy Gerber talks with CISPES alert editor Mike Silinsky about El Salvador’s FMLN “peace talks” and the insistence that the US government stop aid to their military. He outlines some of the demands of the FMLN, including, removing all officers from the military involved in the death squads.
Interview with Jim Gonzalez Interview with Jim Gonzalez
Date: 10/24/1989Call Number: CV 040AFormat: Cass AProducers: Chuy VarelaProgram: KPFACollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Interview with Jim Gonzalez on issues concerning the Latino community such as the grape boycott, INS raids, immigration rights, affordable housing in San Francisco, sponsorship for Latino community events and police brutality, specifically the beating of Dolores Huerta.
Anti-Nazi Demonstrations Anti-Nazi Demonstrations
Date: 4/24/1989Call Number: V 438Format: VHSCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Populist Party planned to meet at the public library in Hayward in honor of Hitler's 100th birthday. Anti-racist organizations organized a protest - NAACP, the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee, and the Coalition to Stop Nazis and Skinheads. The 'celebration' is canceled.
Sylvester Monroe Interview Sylvester Monroe Interview
Date: 1/1/1989Call Number: JG/ 143Format: Cass A & BProgram: Between the LinesCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
Author of Brothers: Black & Poor, A True Story of Courage and Survival discusses his semi-autobiographical book. He examines larger media narratives of Black men and their “invisibility” in the 1980s, and debunks stereotypes by describing men’s personal experiences with poverty, social isolation, and institutional racism, following them from their youth in the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago through their adult lives.
Anti-Nazi Protest – John Brown Anti-Klan Committee Anti-Nazi Protest – John Brown Anti-Klan Committee
Date: 4/2/1989Call Number: V 511Format: Hi-8Producers: Lisa RudmanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
An anti-Nazi and anti-Skinhead march through Napa to protest the growth of both Northern Californian groups. Other groups include ACT UP/SF, Rainbow Coalition, Women Against Racism, Rock Against Racism, Napans Against Prejudice, Women Against Imperialism, and CISPES. A heavy police presence leads the demonstrators to call for the police to point their weapons at the Nazi and Skinhead supporters and not at the anti-nazi protesters. A forum held by the JBAKC a month after the Napa protest recounts the history of the United Racist Front and the stake the government has in protecting and nourishing fascist groups like the KKK. Discusses the new movement of anti-nazi and anti-racist skinhead groups like Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice and Skinheads for Racial Unity. Speakers call for the development of a coalition of Anti-racist groups on the left.
CEML Conference Workshop #1: Racism, Youth and Police Torture CEML Conference Workshop #1: Racism, Youth and Police Torture
Date: 11/4/1989Call Number: V 618Format: VHSProducers: CEMLCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
CEML moderator Mariel Nanasi, presenters Jeffrey Haas and Zulma Ortiz discuss police brutality in Chicago, the complicity of city officials, the police code of silence and high ranking police commander John Burge. Also present is a comparison between prison policies and school policies and the public school system is analyzed as a training ground for police repression of 3rd world communities. Q and A follows presentations.
CEML Conference Workshop #2: The War on Drugs and the Attack on Third World Communities CEML Conference Workshop #2: The War on Drugs and the Attack on Third World Communities
Date: 11/4/1989Call Number: V 619Format: VHSProducers: CEMLCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
CEML Moderator Nancy Kurshan, presenter Professor Robert Starks. Panelists explore the historical roots of the war on drugs in an international context. Funding, technology and policy have all been used by criminal justice system and the war on drugs to expand attacks on Third World communities in a variety of spaces. Q and A follows presentations.
Margaret Walker at the Schomberg Center for Black Research Margaret Walker at the Schomberg Center for Black Research
Date: 11/8/1989Call Number: KP 534Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: General materials
Margaret Walker recounts her life and her poetry. Towards the end of the tape Margaret reads a number of her poems. She discusses influences, the role conditions in the Southern United States played in her writing and her goals in her poetry. Tape 1 of 2?
Bruce Wright on racism Bruce Wright on racism
Date: 11/4/1989Call Number: V 397Format: VHSProducers: KonnectionsCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Lecture by Bruce Wright, judge, scholar, poet and activist for social justice. Using his own experience as a Black man, he describes the history of US racism and the criminal justice system. Transcript available for download.