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

Shutdown - the rise and fall of Direct action to Stop the War Shutdown - the rise and fall of Direct action to Stop the War
Date: 1/1/2009Call Number: V 331Format: DVDProducers: AK PressCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Using the March 20, 2003 occupation and disruption of the San Francisco Financial District as a case study, the film casts an eye on one of the most successful actions of the current anti-war movement, facilitated by Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW). The movie tells the story of how social justice organizers and everyday people came together to plan and shut down the financial district of a major US city.
Operation Small Axe Operation Small Axe
Date: 1/1/2009Call Number: CD 733Format: DVDProducers: JR ValreyCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Takes a raw and unflinching look at life under police terrorism in Oakland, drawing parallels with the struggles against oppression in Palestine and South Africa. Through the stories of Oscar Grant and Lovelle Mixon, the film focuses on the occupation of Oakland’s communities of color by militarized and racist police forces.
Death Row Radical: Mumia Abu Jamal Death Row Radical: Mumia Abu Jamal
Date: 12/8/2009Call Number: C 10 045Format: Mini DVCollection: COINTELPRO 101 Raw Materials
Comprehensive examination of this high-profile case, from the events of that long-ago night to the fateful decisions made in 1999. Among the many people interviewed are Jamal's current lawyer, the prosecuting attorney, and actor and activist Alec Baldwin. What emerges is a picture far more complicated than what either side would have us believe, a fascinating portrait of justice, crime, race and publicity with a man's life at stake.