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

Shut Down the Control Units Shut Down the Control Units
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: V 375Format: VHSProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
US policies at Marion violate the United Nation's Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners that were established for countries like Chile and South Africa. The control units at Marion often are used to silence political prisoners and those demanding prisoners rights.
Control Unit Prisons: Health and Human Rights Violations Control Unit Prisons: Health and Human Rights Violations
Publisher: Health Committee of the Campaign to Abolish Lexington Control UnitDate: 11/15/1988Volume Number: 15-NovFormat: MonographCollection: Control Units
Presented to the American Public Health Association on November 15, 1988 by the Socialist Caucus. Contents include: The Health Affects of Control Unit Prisons; APHA Opposes Lexington High Security Unit; The Women of Lexington Prison; Victory in Lexington Lawsuit; The Marion Control Unit; United Nations Position on Puerto Rican POWs; Public Health Decimates Puerto Rico; Oye-Listen; What is Torture?; Stress and Illness Biography
United States of America: The High Security Unit, Lexington Federal Prison, Kentucky United States of America: The High Security Unit, Lexington Federal Prison, Kentucky
Publisher: Amnesty InternationalDate: 8/1988Volume Number: AugustFormat: ExcerptCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Reproduction of summary published August 1988
A Living Tomb A Living Tomb
Publisher: National Campaign to Abolish the Lexington Women's Control UnitYear: 1988Format: FlyerCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Originally published in The Nation 3/26/1988
United States of America: The High Security Unit, Lexington Federal Prison, Kentucky United States of America: The High Security Unit, Lexington Federal Prison, Kentucky
Publisher: Amnesty InternationalDate: 8/1988Volume Number: AugustFormat: ReportCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Reproduction of full summary and report.
Brainwashing in America?: The Women of Lexington Prison Brainwashing in America?: The Women of Lexington Prison
Authors: William A. Ruben, Carlos NormanPublisher: The NationDate: 6/27/1988Volume Number: 27-JunFormat: ArticleCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Reproduction of article
Special Incapacitation: The Emergence of a New Correctional Facility for Women Political Prisoners Special Incapacitation: The Emergence of a New Correctional Facility for Women Political Prisoners
Author: Gilda ZwermanPublisher: Social JusticeYear: 1988Volume Number: Vol. 15-1Format: ArticleCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Excerpt from Social Justice Vol. 15(1)