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 We are also in the process of scanning and uploading thousands of historical documents which enrich our media holdings.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

Panther 21

In April 1969, 21 members of the Black Panther Party in New York City were charged with conspiracy to kill several police officers and to destroy a number of buildings. After two years in the courts, all of the defendants were acquitted. This collection also contains records on Michael Tabor (1946-2010) was a member of the Black Panther Party who was tried as part of the Panther 21 conspiracy case. Four months into the trial Tabor and fled to Algeria. Despite his ultimate acquittal on all charges, Tabor remained in Algeria till his death.

Documents

Capitalism Plus Dope Equals Genocide Capitalism Plus Dope Equals Genocide
Author: Michael "Cetewayo" TaborPublisher: The Black Panther X-pressYear: 1969Format: PamphletCollection: Panther 21
Writing by Michael Cetewayo Tabor on heroin and its effects on the Black community of Harlem (and in general) and the Black Panther Party's program to combat this plague.
Afeni Shakur: Joining Black Panther Party Afeni Shakur: Joining Black Panther Party
Author: Afeni ShakurCall Number: Format: mp3Collection: Panther 21
Afeni Shakur recollects the first time meeting Bobby Seal in New York City who was speaking out against the police and acknowledges that what attracted her to the Black Panther Party in the beginning was romanization of liberation struggle.
Afeni Shakur: Lessons from Panther 21 Trail Afeni Shakur: Lessons from Panther 21 Trail
Date: 1/27/1972Call Number: Format: mp3Collection: Panther 21
Afeni Shakur draws lessons from the Panther 21 trail and encourages people to support political prisoners by attending court sessions as witnesses.
Afeni Shakur: Racial Solidarity in Prisons Afeni Shakur: Racial Solidarity in Prisons
Date: 1/27/1972Call Number: Format: mp3Collection: Panther 21
Afeni Shakur speaks about the importance of being in solidarity with political prisoners, Sam Melville at Attica prison, how Attica uprising is a prime example on how racial solidarity can be effective and how even prison guards can be supportive of incarcerated revolutionaries.
Afeni Shakur: Solidarity during Panther 21 Trail Afeni Shakur: Solidarity during Panther 21 Trail
Date: 1/27/1972Call Number: Format: mp3Collection: Panther 21
Afeni Shakur speaks about the constant support the 21 Panthers received from people who showed up every day to the trails, including school children, and how this has affected the jury positively. In addition, she addresses the complex relation between political prisoners and guards and how some guards showed gestures of solidarity by, for instance, fasting with political prisoners.