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.

Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials

Documents

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.
What Ever Happened to Hip Hop? What Ever Happened to Hip Hop?
Date: 1/1/2009Call Number: V 531Format: DVDProducers: Sonali Aggarwal, Jonathan LacocqueCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Interviews from old-school luminaries like KRS-One, MC Lyte, and Slick Rick, and performances by artists including Lyte, and locals Tone B. Nimble, Ang13 and Pugslee Atomz. Celebrating the roots of hip hop and its potential while critiquing the current state of the culture.
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
Date: 1/1/2009Call Number: V 533Format: DVDProducers: Emily Kunstler, Sarah KunstlerCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler explore the life of their father, the late radical civil rights lawyer. In the 1960s and 70s, Kunstler fought for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented the famed “Chicago 8” activists who protested the Vietnam War. When the inmates took over Attica prison, or when the American Indian Movement stood up to the federal government at Wounded Knee, they asked Kunstler to be their lawyer. Includes: A Report on the Trial of Attica Prisoner John Hill – Freedom Archives – 1975 and Bobby Seale tring to speak while bound and gagged, the outrage expressed by Attorney William Kunstler in Court from a Documentary on the Chicago Conspiracy Trial
Capitalism: A Love Story Capitalism: A Love Story
Date: 10/2/2009Call Number: V 648Format: DVDCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Michael Moore investigates capitalism in America and the greed that feeds on it. America's love affair with capitalism has gone awry with lies, abuse, betrayal and the loss of thousands of jobs.