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 We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings.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 Crusader Monthly Newsletter (December 1967) The Crusader Monthly Newsletter (December 1967)
Author: Robert F. WilliamsDate: 12/1967Volume Number: Vol. 9-3 DecemberFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
Why I Propose to Return to Racist America: Williams debates on whether to return to U.S., as he was indicted in Monroe County, NC, on charges of kidnapping – stemming from a 1961 incident where a white couple, described by Williams as “fascist agitators against black freedom fighters,” sought shelter in Williams’s house to escape an angry crowd of Black demonstrators. Monroe County turned that incident into a charge of kidnapping for Williams. Williams cites numerous instances he has witnessed of extreme racist discrimination and completely unjustified violence towards Black people. Williams recounts running for mayor of Monroe in 1960, saying he and his supporters drafted a 10-point platform which included fair employment, school integration, integrated medical facilities, non-discrimination in welfare aid, and abolishment of police brutality. For six years he was a main target of racist threats and attacks, and he had to have an armed guard of 30 volunteers posted around his house at night. Williams says the only crime he is guilty of is being in opposition to tyranny. Williams says he wants to return to U.S., but in order for him to return and face the phony charges, a massive international campaign must be waged to witness and challenge the U.S. kangaroo court system.
The Crusader Monthly Newsletter (September-October 1967) The Crusader Monthly Newsletter (September-October 1967)
Author: Robert F. WilliamsYear: 1967Volume Number: Vol. 9-2 September-OctoberFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
USA: The Potential of a Minority Revolution Part III: Williams again raises the question, could a minority revolution succeed in US. What’s required is total revolutionary unity among the youth, a strong revolutionary nationalist spirit throughout the country, a high quality of leadership. “Revolt is a natural response to brutally sustained tyranny.” Call to protest the ban of The Crusader from U.S. mail.
The Crusader Monthly Newsletter (March 1965) The Crusader Monthly Newsletter (March 1965)
Author: Robert F. WilliamsDate: 3/1965Volume Number: Vol. 6-3Format: PeriodicalCollection: Mabel and Robert F. Williams
Speech: Delivered at the International Conference for Solidarity with the People of Vietnam Against US Imperialist Aggression for the Defense of Peace. Hanoi Democratic Republic of Vietnam. November 25-29, 1965; China: America’s Shades of Waterloo – re: advances of Chinese society played down and belittled in America; Carpetbaggers of the Fourth Estate – calling for careful scrutiny of “slight-of-the pen” artists who insist that all manner of publicity good for the nationalist cause, also beware of so-called leftists who spread lies about Black nationalism abroad to thwart unity among Afro-Americans, Latin Americans, Asians, and Africans; An Oscar for a Gorilla – re: right to vote, Selma and Marion, AL; Malcolm X: Death Without Silence – re: Malcolm X’s assassination; The Impending Heat Wave – re: Civil Rights Bill, right to vote, white supremacists continuing to have access to weapons.