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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.

North American Social Movements

This collection is comprised of North American organizations and social movements. Many of the sub-collections contain materials from anti-imperialist organizations in solidarity with national liberation struggles, White anti-racist organizations and allies of the civil rights and later the Black Liberation movements of the 1960-1970s. Many of these organizations also operated in solidarity with national liberation movements in Africa, Central America, and Vietnam. This collection can be divided into three main parts.

Organizations: These sub-collections contain audio and paper materials from the following organizations-> May 19th Communist Organizations; John Brown Anti-Klan Committee (JBAKC); The Moncada Library (A Project of May 19th Communist Organization), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC), The White Panther Party, The Weather Underground Organization (WUO), and the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). These sub-collections include periodicals, recordings, communiques, pamphlets, and other organizational news and campaigns. 

Movements: These sub-collections contain mostly audio but some paper materials about the Asian-American, Anti-War and Environmental movements. The bulk of the materials in the Anti-War sub-collection are focused on protests and opposition to the Vietnam War and Judi Bari and the activities of Earth First is a main focus of the Eco-Justice sub-collection. 

Other: Chicago Conspiracy Trial has rare actual courtroom audio, as well recorded interviews and analysis of the Chicago-8 conspiracy trial following the 1968 Democratic Convention and protests in Chicago. Sue Supriano is entirely audio and Arm the Spirit is entirely paper.   


Subcollections

  • American Communism
    This collection consists of materials published by and about the North American communist movement.
  • Anti-War
    Anti-War
    This collection primarily contains materials opposing the war in Vietnam. Extensive accounts from the May Day Pentagon Protests in 1967 are included as well as student and GI perspectives on the war.
  • Asian American Struggles
    Asian American Struggles
    The Asian American Struggles collection features a selection of several newspapers and pamphlets produced by Asian-American progressive communities, such as New Dawn, Gidra, and more.
  • Chicago Conspiracy Trial
    Chicago Conspiracy Trial
    One of the most unusual courtroom spectacles in American history, this collection contains materials from the 1969-70 trial of eight radicals accused of conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
  • George Jackson Brigade
    George Jackson Brigade
    Combining veterans of the prisoners', women's', gay and black liberation movements, The George Jackson Brigade used armed propaganda as a means to destroy capitalism and unite against the international imperialist class.
  • Health and Environmental Justice
    Health and Environmental Justice
    Includes a range of audio, video, and paper materials concerning movements that fight corporate and state exploitation of the environment.
  • John Brown Anti-Klan Committee (JBAKC)
    John Brown Anti-Klan Committee (JBAKC)
    JBAKC was formed in 1977 to promote the mobilization of white people to fight white supremacy and combat the growing resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.
  • May 19th Communist Organization
    May 19th Communist Organization
    The May 19th Communist Organization derives its name from the birth-date of Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X. Their principle task was supporting, both politically and with material aid, the wars of national liberation, outside and within the borders of the US.
  • Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC)
    Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC)
    Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC) was an anti-imperialist activist group advocating social change through collective direct action.
  • Social Movement Periodicals
    Social Movement Periodicals
    Collection of periodicals produced by Arm the Spirit, Seize the Time, White Lightning (Spirit of Logos Organization) and the White Panther Party.
  • Sojourner Truth Organization
    Sojourner Truth Organization
    Sojourner Truth Organization (STO) was active between 1969-1986 and organized and published political education, criticism, theory, and propaganda around intersections of issues including labor, international anti-imperialism, white supremacy, and feminis
  • Student Activism
    Student Activism
    This collection contains audio and print materials focusing on student activism and movements in the 1960s and early 1970s. Material primarily focuses on student activism at colleges and universities but also some materials from high school students.
  • Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
    Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
    An educational and social action organization dedicated to increasing democracy in all phases of our common life.
  • Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
    Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
    The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a California leftist revolutionary group active from 1973 through the mid 1970s.
  • The People's Party
    This collection contains issues of Grass Roots, a monthly periodical published by the People’s Party, with major topics including electoral politics, healthcare, labor organizing, class struggle, and more.
  • Weather Underground Organization (WUO)
    Weather Underground Organization (WUO)
    The Weather Underground Organization (WUO) was a clandestine, militant anti-racist organization which aimed at the overthrow of US imperialism, foreign and domestic.

Documents

Yellow Power Yellow Power
Publisher: Giant RobotYear: 1998Format: ArticleCollection: Asian American Struggles
Article with segments focusing on Yuri Kochiyama, Lee Lew-Lee, Richard Aoki, The Gang of Four, Noboku Miyamoto, Mo Nishida, Art Ishii and Guy Kurose, George Woo, Alex Hing and more.