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 We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings.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

Oakland Induction Center

During the Vietnam War young male draftees would arrive at the Oakland Induction Center on Clay Street for processing and  physical exams. Throughout this period, anti-war activists would conduct protests outside the Induction Center. Much of our collection centers on street reporting from Colin Edwards during Stop the Draft Week 1967. In California, Stop the Draft Week organizers led 3000 marchers to the Oakland Induction Center on October 16, 1967. When marchers refused police orders to leave, police attacked them with nightsticks, injuring 20. On the second day, demonstrators returned to the Induction Center, and this time 97 were arrested. On the third day, 10,000 protesters arrived, this time retreating in orderly fashion but also successfully blocking streets as they departed.This collection also includes coverage of the mutiny on the Coral Sea, anti-war demonstrations and speeches on the UC Berkeley campus, audio excerpts from a protest at Port Chicago and other anti-war content.

Documents

Oakland Seven [DVD] Oakland Seven [DVD]
Date: 10/18/2010Call Number: V 869Format: DVDProducers: Russ WatkinsCollection: Oakland Induction Center
Transfer from 16mm prints of anti-draft demonstrations in Oakland, CA in 1968.
Marine Reaction at Port Chicago Protests [mp3] Marine Reaction at Port Chicago Protests [mp3]
Call Number: Format: mp3Collection: Oakland Induction Center
Audio excerpt of Marine reaction to anti-war protesters at Port Chicago.
Port Chicago Anti-War Protests [mp3] Port Chicago Anti-War Protests [mp3]
Call Number: Format: mp3Collection: Oakland Induction Center
Audio excerpt of Colin Edward's providing background information about the anti-war protests at Port Chicago.
Oakland 7 Arraignment Statement [mp3] Oakland 7 Arraignment Statement [mp3]
Call Number: Format: mp3Collection: Oakland Induction Center
Arraignment Statement from the Oakland Seven case stemming from arrests at the Oakland Induction Center anti-war protest.
Counter Protestors at Port Chicago [mp3] Counter Protestors at Port Chicago [mp3]
Call Number: Format: mp3Collection: Oakland Induction Center
Audio of counter-protesters at the Port Chicago military facility.
Berkeley Train Incident Actuality/Anti-Vietnam War appeals to Mexican Ship Berkeley Train Incident Actuality/Anti-Vietnam War appeals to Mexican Ship
Date: 9/5/1965Call Number: CE 897Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Oakland Induction Center
The Vietnam Day Committee, a group of organizing activists bent on not only symbolically objecting to the war but also taking the direct action to disrupt the cogs of war, attempts to appeal to the crew of the El Maxicano ship, in Spanish. The protest not only was meant to call out the criminal and imperialist Vietnam War but also to speak against the criminal exploitation of foreign labor. The second piece of the reel deals with a summation of the sequence of protests against the Vietnam War held at the Berkeley campus against the back drop of a New McCarthy era looming on campus.
Coral Seas Revolt Coral Seas Revolt
Date: 11/19/1971Call Number: CE 931Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ips full trackProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Oakland Induction Center
Includes not only a comprehensive detail of the factors and events that culminated in the Coral Seas Revolt, but discusses the reluctance to cooperate in war that many sailors felt, and the punishment delivered by higher ranking officers. In addition there are interviews with sailors and organizers of the revolt.
Anti-War Rally April 27th 1968 Reel 2 Anti-War Rally April 27th 1968 Reel 2
Date: 4/27/1968Call Number: CE 928Volume Number: Reel 2Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Oakland Induction Center
A continuation of speeches and rallying cries recorded at the April 27th rally which followed a Peace March. This reel also contains a speech from Muhammad Ali speaking to the need for Black unity under one leader.
Rally April 23, 1968 Reel 2 Rally April 23, 1968 Reel 2
Date: 4/23/1968Call Number: CE 926Volume Number: Reel 2Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Oakland Induction Center
Details a police stand-off with protesters, as well as accounts of the worsening systemic conditions and the severity of both police response and legal charges.
Anti-War Rally April 27th 1968 Reel 1 Anti-War Rally April 27th 1968 Reel 1
Date: 4/27/1968Call Number: CE 927Volume Number: Reel 1Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Oakland Induction Center
This recording follows a march against the Vietnam War (in memory of Martin Luther King). Admiral Truth: Discusses political lies, the right to national self-determination, speaks out against the draft and neo-colonialism. Includes the lead-in to the Muhammad Ali speech on the second tape.