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.

African liberation movements

African liberation movements arose from a growing nationalism among previously divided African communities, the unfulfilled promise of self-determination following the end of World War II and the weakened economic and political capacities of Western Europe.

Our collection contains a wide range of materials representing liberation movements from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, and the Congo (DRC). Our collection also features containing Human Rights Reports from South Africa, IKWEZI, a revolutionary Azanian journal, and a sub-collection containing general resources about the continent. This collection includes audio and paper materials.

Strengths of the collection include materials on the role of women in African liberation struggles and national reconstruction, an interesting assortment of periodicals from Southern Africa, speeches and interviews with revolutionary leaders from across the continent, audio from solidarity events in the United States, and a set of human rights reports compiled during the transition from Apartheid to democracy in South Africa.

Subcollections

  • Africa- General Resources
    This collection contains general resources about various themes related to the African continent. The collection draws from many types of materials (periodicals, books, pamphlets) and many different countries (Kenya, Guinea, Tanzania).
  • Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique
    This collection contains materials from the liberation struggles in former Portuguese colonies. Guinea Bissau gained independence in 1973 and Mozambique and Angola achieved independence in 1975.
  • Anti-Apartheid Solidarity
    This collection contains materials from Bay Area anti-apartheid movements of the 1980s originating from various sources, primarily Bay Area-based South African solidarity groups.
  • Eritrea
    Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa. It gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 30 year struggle for independence.
  • IKWEZI
    IKWEZI is a revolutionary Azanian Journal based on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought.
  • South Africa
    This collection contains a variety of materials which focus on the anti-apartheid movement both within and outside of South Africa.
  • South Africa: Human Rights Reports
    The Human Rights Commission published weekly, monthly and annual reports. In addition, occasional in-depth special reports were published on important human rights issues.
  • SWAPO- Namibia
    SWAPO (Southwest Africa Peoples Organization) was formed in 1960 to fight for liberation in present day Namibia. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990.
  • Zaire-DRC
    This collection contains materials from the Congolese struggle against neocolonialism and the rule of General Mobuto Sese Seko.
  • Zimbabwe
    This collection contains information about the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe, mainly focused on the struggle against Rhodesia and white settler rule.

Documents

Amilcar Cabral Amilcar Cabral
Date: 10/20/1972Call Number: KP 044 R1Format: Reel 1Collection: African liberation movements
Amilcar Cabral, leader of PAIGC - Liberation Movement of Guinea-Bissau/Cape Verde Islands. speaks at a conference of African-American organizations and journalists in New York. Cabral’s portions of Cabral's comments are in his book “Return to the Source." Cabral was assassinated by the CIA and Portuguese colonialists in 1973. NOTE: an excerpt from this tape is on Roots of Resistance, Volume 1, highlights CD.
Chris Hani interview Chris Hani interview
Date: 5/29/1994Call Number: KP 046Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Barbara Lubinski, Heber DreherProgram: Freedom Is a Constant StruggleCollection: African liberation movements
Chris Hani, South African freedom leader, is interviewed by Barbara Lubinski and Heber Dreher during a solidarity visit he made to the United States, just months before his assassination. Some drums and music. NOTE: an excerpt from this tape is on Roots of Resistance, Volume 1, highlights CD.
Amilcar Cabral Amilcar Cabral
Format: mp3Collection: African liberation movements
Amilcar Cabral, leader of the liberation Movement of Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands, assassinated by the Portuguese and the CIA. He talks informally in New York in October 1972 with representatives of African-American organizations. This talk is the basis for his book Return to the Source.
Nelson Mandela Released Nelson Mandela Released
Short excerpt from speech by Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, upon his release from Victor Verster Prison after 27 years of incarceration.
Global Resistance - South Africa Global Resistance - South Africa
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesCollection: African liberation movements
Amandla!; Winnie Mandela talks about the role of Black mothers in South Africa, Afrikaaners, the necessity to destroy apartheid.; People Shall Govern from Radio Free South Africa; Winnie Mandela about the grassroots struggle, the Black Womens Federation, prison and political education; Winnie Mandela on the creation of the Freedom Charter by the ANC, hope for the freedom of South Africa; Toi Toi song
Global Resistance Africa to Palestine from Roots of Resistance Global Resistance Africa to Palestine from Roots of Resistance
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesProgram: Roots of ResistanceCollection: African liberation movements
Amilcar Cabral, leader of the liberation movement of Guinea-Bissau and the cape Verde Islands, talks about the basis for his book, Return to the Source; Winnie Mandela, one of the leaders of the African National Congress, speaks on the internalized oppression of Africans in racist South Africa; Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, speaking on the day of his release from prison, where he had been held for over 20 years; Chris Hani, a leader of the anti-apartheid movement, interviewed by Barbara Lubinski and Herber Dreher during a visit to san Francisco; Speech by a spokeswomen for Arab Students, with chants in solidarity with Palestine during a Bay Area demonstration in the late 1970s; Poet June Jordan reciting one of her poems about Palestine at a solidarity event held in 1990.
Correspondance to Cuba Correspondance to Cuba
Publisher: SWAPOYear: 1981Format: CorrespondenceCollection: SWAPO- Namibia
Letter to Dr. Isodoro, Minister of Foreign Relations of Cuba about upcoming UN meeting and general update.
Statement before the 35th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly Statement before the 35th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly
Author: Comrade Theo-Ben Gurirab SWAPO Permanent Observer to the UNPublisher: Material Aid for ZANU (PF)Date: 3/2/1981Volume Number: 2-MarFormat: TranscriptCollection: SWAPO- Namibia
The Way Ahead: Strategies for the Women's Movement The Way Ahead: Strategies for the Women's Movement
Author: Ottilie AbrahamsDate: 11/2/1990Volume Number: 2-NovFormat: StatementCollection: SWAPO- Namibia
Proposal: Umbrella Organisation for Namibian Women Proposal: Umbrella Organisation for Namibian Women
Date: 3/3/1990Volume Number: 3-MarFormat: Government DocumentCollection: SWAPO- Namibia