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 We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings.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

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Size: 20 envelopes

Envelopes: (in parenthesis is a PARTIAL/INCOMPLETE list)

1. LGBTQI/AIDS: (Act-Up, AIDS walk, Harvey Milk, March on Washington, Queers for Palestine)

2. Political Prisoners/Prison - Police, Judicial: (Mumia, Abolish Death Penalty, Attica, San Quentin 6, Bradley Manning, Peltier, N.L.G., Joann Little, Leavenworth, Free Angela)

3. Anti-War/Peace: (No Blood for Oil, Code Pink, Dept. of Peace, Peace is Patriotic, Bread Not Bombs, Jobs Not Bombs, No Business as Usual/May 5, Abolish ROTC, Mar. 4 SACC, March on Washington 1965, Women Unite!- Dismantle the war machine, Peoples Peace Through Peoples Power, Strike! April 26)

4. Labor/UFW: (Boycott Grapes, SEIU, Boycott Lettuce, Boycott Coors, Boycott GE, PATCO/Reagan, Union Women's Alliance to Gain Equality, UFCW, Women Office Workers-9to5, Immigrant Workers, Viva La Huelga, A women's place is in her union, Back GE strikers, Wesleyan Food Service Workers)

5. Electoral/Political: (Obama, Kerry, Kucinich, Hillary, Bernie, McGovern, Reagan, Bush, Nixon, Achtenberg, Elvis for President Jesse Jackon, Nader-LaDuke, Dick Gregory for President, If you don't vote-People like Bush & Cheney get elected)

6. International:

     6a. Africa: (South Africa/Abolish Apartheid, Angola/MPLA, Rhodesia)

     6b. Latin America: (El Salvador/FDR/FMLN, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba/Guantanamo, Central America)

     6c. Asia/Europe: (Palestine, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China/Mao. Soviet Sports Exhibition, Stop U.S. military aid to Israel, Solidarnosc)

7. Black Liberation: (March Against Racism, Malcolm X, Black Lives Matter, SNCC, CORE, We Shall Overcome,  All Power To The People !, March on Washington 1963)

8. Women: (ERA, Warrior Women, Abortion, Women Hold Up Half The Sky, Patriarchy Is Killing Us, Women United for Action, Mar. 31 International Day of Action)

9. Immigration: (No 187, Free Ibrahim, Keep Immigrants- Deport Trump)

10. Anti-Nuclear: (Convert/Disarm Rocky Flats, Stop MX, Women Against Nukes, Stop Profits of Doom, rally for disarmament)

11. Health Care: (Single Payer, Healthcare is a Human Right/SB 562, Needle Exchange, No 166/Bad Medicine, We Need Cook County Hospital)

12. Anti-Corporate: (Occupy Wall St, Public Banking, Tax the Corporations, Keep Public Services Public, Wild Old Women Occupy Bernal, 99%, People Before Profits, Capitalism Is Over)

13. Student/Youth/Education: (SDS, Feces on Theses, Arab Youth Organizing, Arab-Am. Studies IS Ethnic Studies, Open Up The Schools, Stand for Children)

14. Native-American: ( Am, Indian Movement, Return Presidio to Ohlone Nation, Water Protector/No DAPL)

15. Puerto Rico: (Free the 11 POWS/Independence for PR, US Imperialism OUT of PR, Free PR/Demo July 4-1979, Shut Down Control Units/Lexington KY)

16. Environmental/Nature: (Rainforest Action, Rain Guardian)

17. Political (random): (Block Bork, No to Empire, ACLU, Americans of Conscience, Rent Control, Regime Change begins at home, Oxfam, Acción Afirmativa, An injury to one is an injury to all, Workers World Party. Refuse to be Abused, Books YES/Spychips NO/Np RFIDS at SFPL, "let them eat cake"/Nancy Reagan, Heifer Helper)

18. California (Post 1986): Berkeley Bowl Workers, Occupy Oakland, 174 No, No on 209- Save Affirmative Action, Woodfin Workers, No on 32, Winograd 2010, Stop TX oil-no on 23, March to fight the right- 1996)

19. Boston,MA (Pre 1986): (Fair Share, November!, Cambridge Referendum-Childcare for all, Mel King for Mayor, Day for Congress, March against racism-Boston Dec. 14, Fall River-New Bedford/People Before Profits/ Dorchester/Green Lite Program)

20. Random/Not Political/Art: (PAWS, I (heart) NY, Poetry Advocate, Sutro Baths, Ω, Bernal Heights, I vote for art, DWYSYWD, Living Sober/SF)

Documents