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 We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings.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.

Independent Collections

A major component of the original collection Freedom Archives was the Real Dragon, Nothing is More Precious Than, and Freedom is a Constant Struggle news programs. These programs were created by collectives of independent radio journalists who were often involved in local, regional and national political organizing and movement work. There are over 500 total audio materials in these three sub-collections and represent over 30 years of Bay Area generated grassroots radio work.  

Additionally, the Freedom Archives holds almost 1,000 radio recordings produced by Colin Edwards. Colin Edwards (1924–1994) was an outstanding internationalist journalist from Wales who did important on-the-scene interviews and documentaries on anti-imperialist national liberation struggles in the Middle East, especially Palestine, on Asia, particularly Vietnam, and on many other struggles, including the civil rights, Black Power, and student antiwar movements and Free Speech Movement in the US.  

Finally, there are sub-collections on the struggle to save the I-Hotel from developers; the Paul Robeson Show and Art Sato's jazz program. 

Subcollections

  • Art Sato: In Your Ear
    Art Sato: In Your Ear
    In Your Ear represents nearly 40 years of in-depth exclusive interviews by Art Sato with innovative practitioners of jazz and Latin music. The interviews contain insights and analyses of jazz music and culture not found in other references on the subject.
  • BLU Magazine
    BLU Magazine
    BLU was a forward-thinking journal of revolutionary culture composed of a mix of political thought, artistic feeling and musical commentary.
  • Buttons
    Buttons
    This collection contains a variety of buttons and pins from many different struggles and issues.
  • Colin Edwards Collection
    Colin Edwards Collection
    Materials representing the life-work and journalism of a Welsh radio correspondent and journalist who covered anti-imperialist national liberation struggles across the globe, working for Pacifica Radio, the BBC and many other broadcasters.
  • Cultural Workers Movement
    Cultural Workers Movement
    This collection contains materials related to the effort to form a committed revolutionary and anti-imperialist cultural front with cultural workers movements in California in the 1970s.
  • Freedom is a Constant Struggle
    Freedom is a Constant Struggle
    The Freedom Is A Constant Struggle collection extends from February 1976 to August 1995. It continues the weekly summary of international, national, and local struggles on many fronts, interspersed with poetry and music.
  • General materials
    Audio materials covering a wide variety of topics.
  • Health Justice
    Health Justice
    This collection contains audio and print materials related to health, medical experimentation, psychiatric confinement, and medical care in prison.
  • International Hotel (I-Hotel) Anti-Eviction Organizing Materials
    International Hotel (I-Hotel) Anti-Eviction Organizing Materials
    From 1968 to 1977, the majority Filipino and Chinese residents of the International Hotel resisted eviction from their homes and called on city leaders to provide low-rent housing that allowed people to continue to live in their communities.
  • International Hotel (I-Hotel) Struggle
    International Hotel (I-Hotel) Struggle
    This collection contains extensive and unique audio recorded during interviews with residents of the I-Hotel as well as hundreds of documents from the community organizing efforts to keep people in their homes.
  • La Lucha Continua: a talking mural in San Francisco
    La Lucha Continua: a talking mural in San Francisco
    "La Lucha Continua/The Struggle Continues" is the result of a 3 year collaboration between Susan Greene and Freedom Archives.
  • Nothing is More Precious Than…
    Nothing is More Precious Than…
    KPFA weekly news program running from 1973-1976 featuring in-depth coverage of liberation struggles around the world.
  • Programs produced by Kiilu Nyasha
    Programs produced by Kiilu Nyasha
    Kiilu Nyasha is a revolutionary journalist and former member of the Black Panther Party. Kiilu still hosts Freedom Is A Constant Struggle, which now appears as a TV program.
  • Research Files
    Research Files
    Miscellaneous research files including clippings and publications on specific topics.
  • Struggles for Housing
    Struggles for Housing
    Contains materials related to various localized struggles against displacement, poor housing conditions, eviction, and gentrification. The contents primarily consists of of different periodicals with features focused on housing struggles.
  • The Paul Robeson Show
    The Paul Robeson Show
    The Paul Robeson Show, 1982–1985. First and only regularly scheduled series devoted to the life, music, and accomplishments of this great artist and activist.
  • The Real Dragon
    The Real Dragon
    Real Dragon was a radio program broadcast on KPFA from 1971-1973. This news show focused on issues of national liberation, political prisoners, Vietnam and other major national and international topics.
  • Third World News Bureau

Documents

BLU Magazine: Streetside Worldwide #14 BLU Magazine: Streetside Worldwide #14
Publisher: BLU MagazineYear: 2001Call Number: Volume Number: Issue 14, Volume 3Format: PeriodicalCollection: BLU Magazine
"Colombia" editorial focusing on the Colombian civil war and the effects on displaced Colombians. "People's War in Nepal" discusses the people's war waged by the communist party on the countryside in an attempt to surround the cities and seize power. "Saturday Dream" short story concerning genocide by Roosevelt Woods. "Black August"celebrates the legacy of Afrikan resistance and commemorates fallen freedom fighters. Segment discussing the Black August film festival. Contains editorials and poetry celebrating Black August. "H Rap Brown" "Nkiru" discusses the cultural significance of this bookstore as a hip hop hangout and also as the second oldest black bookstore in New York. "South African Aids Crisis" discusses efforts in South Africa to remove the stigma placed on AIDS and the efforts to provide treatment and information. "Porto Alegre" discusses the World Social Forum, a meeting which took place in Porto Alegre that fostered debates against neoliberalism. "Intifada and Comic Subversion" highlights Joe Sacco's comic book series Palestine which affirmed the existence of Palestine and the realities of people from there. "Remapping Chicago"