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.

Cuba

This collection contains materials about Cuba’s history including the Cuban revolution, post-revolution, and international relations. Fulgencio Batista was a major political figure in Cuba from 1933-1944 and dictator from 1952-1959. He exploited Cuban land and resources for U.S interests. The Cuban people were unhappy with the abuse and political repression they faced on a daily basis. A popular uprising by workers and peasants took place in 1953, which culminated in an attack on the Moncada military base organized by Fidel and Raul Castro. The attack was unsuccessful and Fidel was exiled to Mexico but this event sparked the Cuban revolution. Fidel returned to Cuba in 1956 with Che Guevara and a small guerilla force. Fidel and Che led the people in a rebellion against the Batista regime and the government elite that controlled the people’s resources and economic stability. Batista was successfully overthrown in 1959 and Fidel assumed power as the new leader of Cuba with the intent of building the country around the people’s needs and distributing the wealth equally. Cuba has been a great model and influence for other Latin American countries seeking freedom from repressive conditions and US imperialism. Audio and paper documents also include information on Cuba post-revolution, including its economy, health system, and the nationalization of public services as well as U.S involvement in Cuba starting after 1960.

Documents

Che Guevara in New York - Radio Rebelde - Fidel Castro Che Guevara in New York - Radio Rebelde - Fidel Castro
Date: 12/18/1963Call Number: KP 168Format: DATCollection: Cuba
Che Guevara in New York City 12/18/1963 Radio Rebelde (in Spanish) broadcast by radio Havana, Cuba in 1971 - towards the end is the first victory message by Fidel Castro over Radio Rebelde A speech by Fidel Castro (date unknown)
Voices from Radio Habana Cuba Voices from Radio Habana Cuba
Producers: Radio RebeldeCollection: Cuba
Sample from actual broadcast of Radio Rebelde, the clandestine station of the Cuban Revolution. The announcer introduces Fidel Castro, who calls for a general strike to defeat the Batista tyranny.