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, specifcally AND/+, NOT/-, and OR operators. 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.
Welcome to the Freedom Archives' Digital Search Engine.The Freedom Archives contains over 12,000 hours of audio and video recordings which date from the late-1960s to the mid-90s and chronicle the progressive history of the Bay Area, the United States, and international movements. We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings. Our collection includes weekly news, poetry, music programs; in-depth interviews and reports on social and cultural issues; numerous voices from behind prison walls; diverse activists; and pamphlets, journals and other materials from many radical organizations and movements.

Search Results

The Black Panther Black Community News Service [March 16, 1968] The Black Panther Black Community News Service [March 16, 1968]
Publisher: The Black Panther PartyDate: 3/16/1968Volume Number: Vol. 2-1Format: PeriodicalCollection: Black Panther Party Community News Service
Cover Story: Pigs Run Amok! Also featuring an execlusive interview with Huey Newton, In Defense of Self-Defense
Babylon Vol.1-1 Babylon Vol.1-1
Publisher: Revolutionary Peoples Communications NetworkDate: 11/1971Call Number: Volume Number: Vol. 1-1Format: PeriodicalCollection: Various Black Liberation Movement Publications
First issue of Babylon, a newspaper published by the Revolutionary Peoples Communications Network. Includes articles on the alleged capture of H. Rap Brown by police after a "gun battle," the problems or heroin addiction and the use of Methadone treatment, Ruchell Magee and the Marin County Courthouse shootout, and the relationship of African Americans to the U.S. military and the war in Vietnam. The centerpiece article is on the struggle of African Americans in Cairo, Illinois against oppression and brutal treatment by the police and other government agencies. Also included are letters from political prisoners, a "Letter To The Lumpen" by Eldridge Cleaver, and various poems.
The Black Panther- Black Community News Service (September 1968) The Black Panther- Black Community News Service (September 1968)
Publisher: The Black Panther PartyDate: 9/7/1968Call Number: Volume Number: Vol. II, No. 5Format: PeriodicalCollection: Black Panther Party Community News Service
Edition of the bi-weekly newspaper of the Black Panther Party. This edition has the cover title " World awaits verdict- Free Huey... or the sky's the limit". This edition includes articles on:black history, African/Asian/Latin American solidarity, Arab students, LA panthers murdered, gun laws, revolutionary culture, legal first aid. This edition includes Black Revolutionary Poetry ( aurelia bealum, j. White, Iris Wyse)
Black Panthers - Huey! Black Panthers - Huey!
Date: 2/17/1968Call Number: V 366Format: DVDProducers: Agnes VardaCollection: Videos – camera originals and reference materials
Free Huey rally held on February 17th, 1968 (Newton's birthday). Over 5,000 people attended - speakers including Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale, James Forman, Bob Avakian, Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown and Ron Dellums. The speakers outline the Party's platform goals, their strategies for freeing Newton from jail and more.