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 We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings.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

COINTELPRO: A Brief Overview COINTELPRO: A Brief Overview
Author: Dhoruba Bin WahadDate: 11/8/1989Call Number: Format: ReportCollection: Cointelpro
Short report deals with a background on COINTELPRO, its true purposes and objectives, and how COINTELPRO operations influenced future political and social opinions.
COINTELPRO - Domestic Subverside Warfare: The Case of Clark, et. al. v. The United States COINTELPRO - Domestic Subverside Warfare: The Case of Clark, et. al. v. The United States
Publisher: Committee for the Suit Against Government MisconductYear: 1978Format: PamphletCollection: Cointelpro
Pamphlet laying out the background of COINTELPRO and Clark v. USA
National Task Force for Cointelpro Litigation and Research National Task Force for Cointelpro Litigation and Research
Publisher: National Task Force for COINTELPRO Litigation & ResearchYear: 1978Format: StatementCollection: Cointelpro
Statement with background information about COINTELPRO and the goals of the National Task Force for Cointelpro Litigation and Research
COINTELPRO 101 Trailer COINTELPRO 101 Trailer
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: Video ClipCollection: Cointelpro
Cointelpro 101 exposes illegal surveillance, disruption, and outright murder committed by the US government in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Cointelpro refers to the official FBI COunter INTELigence PROgram carried out to surveil, imprison, and eliminate leaders of social justice movements and to disrupt, divide, and destroy the movements as well. Many of the government's crimes are still unknown. Through interviews with activists who experienced these abuses first-hand, with rare historical footage, the film provides an educational introduction to a period of intense repression and draws relevant lessons for the present and future.
Women and the Fight Against COINTELPRO: A Evening of Solidarity with Black Freedom Fighters Women and the Fight Against COINTELPRO: A Evening of Solidarity with Black Freedom Fighters
Publisher: Committee for the Suit Against Government MisconductDate: 5/4/1979Volume Number: 4-MayFormat: AgendaCollection: Cointelpro
Agenda for the evening's benefit Women and the Fight against COINTELPRO.
Cointelpro's Attacks Against The Chicano Movement Cointelpro's Attacks Against The Chicano Movement
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: Video ClipCollection: Chican@/Xican@ - General Resources
COINTELPRO may not be a well-understood acronym but its meaning and continuing impact are absolutely central to understanding the government’s wars and repression against progressive movements. COINTELPRO represents the state’s strategy to prevent movements and communities from overturning white supremacy and creating racial justice. COINTELPRO is both a formal program of the FBI and a term frequently used to describe a conspiracy among government agencies—local, state, and federal—to destroy movements for self-determination and liberation for Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous struggles, as well as mount an institutionalized attack against allies of these movements and other progressive organizations.
Women and the Fight Against COINTELPRO: A Evening of Solidarity with Black Freedom Fighters Women and the Fight Against COINTELPRO: A Evening of Solidarity with Black Freedom Fighters
Publisher: Committee for the Suit Against Government MisconductFormat: FlyerCollection: Cointelpro
Benefit for the National Task Force for COINTELPRO Litigation and Research.
COINTELPRO 1980: Blueprint for Facism COINTELPRO 1980: Blueprint for Facism
Publisher: Committee for the Suit Against Government MisconductFormat: FlyerCollection: Cointelpro
Flyer for COINTELPRO 1980 Forum A Blueprint for Facism. On the back of the flyer is a text about the main themes of the forum.
Geronimo Ji Jaga from COINTELPRO 101 (Video Clip #1) Geronimo Ji Jaga from COINTELPRO 101 (Video Clip #1)
Date: 9/3/2007Call Number: COI 112Format: Video ClipCollection: Geronimo Ji-Jaga (Pratt)
High-ranking member of the Black Panther Party and human rights activist. Wrongly convicted, through a COINTELPRO operation, of murder and spent 27 years in prison.
Geronimo Ji Jaga from COINTELPRO 101 (Video Clip #2) Geronimo Ji Jaga from COINTELPRO 101 (Video Clip #2)
Date: 9/3/2007Call Number: COI 113Format: Video ClipCollection: Geronimo Ji-Jaga (Pratt)
High-ranking member of the Black Panther Party and human rights activist. Wrongly convicted, through a COINTELPRO operation, of murder and spent 27 years in prison.