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.

Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)

The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a California leftist revolutionary group active from 1973 through the mid 1970s.  A primary goal of the organization was the “gaining of freedom and self-determination and independence for all their people and races.” The SLA utilized tactics of expropriation, direct action and armed propaganda to stimulate public awareness and action around issues of poverty, housing, racism, women’s rights, and prison issues. Despite undertaking a number of controversial and sometimes polarizing actions, one of the foremost successes of the SLA was forcing the Hearst family to give away millions of dollars worth of food from Safeway grocery stores to impoverished communities in the Bay Area.  

Highlights of our collection include scanned copies of the Dragon, a rare periodical produced by the Bay Area Research Collective in support of the SLA; original SLA communiqués, statements and publications; and press releases, flyers and statements from other Bay Area radical groups concerning SLA actions and ideas. Additionally, we have hundreds of articles taken from local Bay Area news sources, all pertaining to the SLA and the group’s activities. Our collection of paper documents is supplemented by our media holdings primarily derived from local recordings and programs. These include memorial shows, audio from rallies and news programs and taped communiqués.  

Subcollections

  • The Dragon
    Periodical in support of the SLA printed monthly by the Bay Area Research Collective.

Documents

Free the SLA Free the SLA
Author: SLAFormat: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This statement written from the "underground" critiques the current revolutionary groups and provides directions for how the Left should continue. Its idea to unite the masses includes building a non-racist movement, incorporating the ideology of feminism into all theory and practice, and creating organizations capable of surviving repression from oppositional forces.
Symbionese Liberation Army: Support-Criticize-Love Them Symbionese Liberation Army: Support-Criticize-Love Them
Publisher: Bay Area Research CollectiveFormat: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Statement supporting the SLA and identifying ways the media has discredited their actions.
Emily and Bill Harris Statement Emily and Bill Harris Statement
Authors: Emily and Bill HarrisDate: 8/31/1978Volume Number: 31-AugFormat: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Statement given after the two officially entered guilty pleas to the charge of simple kidnapping
Statement to Prisoners of War of San Quentin Statement to Prisoners of War of San Quentin
Format: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Statement in solidarity with Prisoners of War.
Statement on the Symbionese Liberation Army Statement on the Symbionese Liberation Army
Publisher: Ex-Venceremos of San Mateo County- San Francisco Marxist-Leninist OrganizationDate: 2/13/1974Volume Number: 13-FebFormat: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Statement in opposition to the SLA. SLA is labeled as anti-working class, anti-revolutionary, anti-communist and playing the role of provacateurs.
The Call: Who are the real terrorists? The Call: Who are the real terrorists?
Publisher: The CallFormat: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Statement from the October League pointing out some of the key ommissions by the media around the SLA and the Hearst kidnapping.
Joe Romero and Russ Little Statement Joe Romero and Russ Little Statement
Authors: Joe Romero and Russ LittleVolume Number: 27-FebFormat: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Statement from death row at San Quentin State Prison about Patricia Hearst, the SLA and other events.