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 We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings.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

Self Respect, Self Defense & Self Determination - Full program Self Respect, Self Defense & Self Determination - Full program
Date: 3/14/2004Call Number: Format: Video ClipProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
An event held at the First Congregational Church in Oakland on Sunday, March 14, 2004 with Mabel Williams and Kathleen Cleaver. Both women were welcomed and introduced by Angela Davis. These two inspiring women of the 60s Black Liberation struggle met to share their personal experiences - resisting the KKK and police repression, forced into exile government repression, and their international experiences in Third World nations. Mabel Williams, with her late husband Robert F. Williams, met with Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and Mao Tse Tung to help internationalize support for the Black Liberation Movement. Kathleen Cleaver was Communications Secretary and the first woman on the Central Committee of the Black Panther Party.
Mabel Williams on Being in the Shadow of her Husband Mabel Williams on Being in the Shadow of her Husband
Date: 3/14/2004Call Number: Format: Video ClipProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
Mabel Williams talks about "being in the shadow" of her husband, Robert F. Williams. Mabel speaks on the importance of unity in the struggle, love for all people and setting a positive example for our children.
Kathleen Cleaver COINTELPRO 101 Extra Footage Kathleen Cleaver COINTELPRO 101 Extra Footage
Call Number: COI 10 130Format: Video ClipCollection: Cointelpro
Kathleen Cleaver became involved in the civil rights movement. In 1967 she left college to work full-time for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The following year she met Eldridge Cleaver and moved from New York to San Francisco to join the Black Panther Party (BPP). Kathleen Cleaver became the BPP's National Communications Secretary and helped to organize the campaign to get Huey Newton released from prison. She was also the first woman to be appointed to the Black Panthers Central Committee. Kathleen continues to struggle for civil and human rights and teaches law at Emory University.
Mabel Williams on Armed Self-Defense and the Klan Mabel Williams on Armed Self-Defense and the Klan
Date: 3/14/2004Call Number: Format: Video ClipProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
Mabel Williams speaks on the racist and dangerous conditions in Monroe, North Carolina that necessitated armed self-defense for the Black Community. She also talks about how her husband (Robert F. Williams) on one hand knew that the law was not made to protect Black people but on the other hand used it to his advantage when it came to the right to bear arms.
Mabel Williams on the Beginnings of Radio Free Dixie Mabel Williams on the Beginnings of Radio Free Dixie
Date: 3/14/2004Call Number: Format: Video ClipProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
Mabel Williams recounts the story behind the beginnings of Radio Free Dixie when her and her husband Robert were living in Cuba.
Mabel Williams Recounts the Story of Her Family's Flight from Monroe to Cuba. Mabel Williams Recounts the Story of Her Family's Flight from Monroe to Cuba.
Date: 3/14/2004Call Number: Format: Video ClipProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
Mabel Williams recounts the story of how her family was forced to flee their home in Monroe, North Carolina. She specifically mentions the importance of the networks that they ha previously established and how those friends were vital in sustaining the family during their flight and eventually getting them to Cuba.
Frente Conference - San Francisco 1975 (video clip) Frente Conference - San Francisco 1975 (video clip)
Date: 2/1975Call Number: Format: Video ClipCollection: Cultural Workers Movement
Conference intended to unite and highlight revolutionary cultural workers and the power of cultural work. MC- Merle Goldstone 5 Bay Area muralists - Jane Norling, Peggy Tucker, Art Williams, Consuela Mendez, Tim Dresmend UCLA student (unidentified) - Poem Lincoln Bergman KPFA and KPOO Third World Programming - role that radio played in the Cuban Revolution Chui - critique of audience for not including people in prison Hilton Obenzinger - poetry May 4th Singers (from I-Hotel Struggle) SF Mime Troupe- theater collective - "The Mother"- on farm-workers and unions Melodie and Lonnie speak on the play, the process and challenges of developing revolutionary culture.