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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.
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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.

Black Liberation

The Black Liberation Movement grew out of the Civil Rights Movement and was made up of many militant organizations dedicated to freedom for African-Americans, such as the Black Panther Party, the Black Liberation Army, and the Republic of New Africa.This collection contains materials from artists, organizers, organizations, publications and events in the Black Liberation Movement. These materials include audio, video and paper materials and draw from important moments such as Black Power, the Civil Rights Movement, New Afrikan politics, urban rebellions and the Black Arts Movement.

Subcollections

  • Black Arts Movement
    Black Arts Movement
    This collection has diverse contents related to progressive artistic creations by African Americans. The contents primarily include poetry and speeches and/or interviews with Black artists, musicians and authors.
  • Black Liberation - General
  • Black Liberation Movement People
    Black Liberation Movement People
    This collection is comprised of sub-collections containing audio (often rare) and paper materials focused on influential people and major figures in the Black Liberation Movement.
  • Black Liberation Movement Publications
    Black Liberation Movement Publications
    This collection is comprised of position papers, monographs, newspapers and other publications from or about the Black Liberation Movement. Includes The Student Voice, The Movement Newspaper, Crossroads, Soulbook and assorted writings.
  • Black Power/Black Nation
    Black Power/Black Nation
    This collection contains materials related to Black Power and the concept of a Black Nation within the United States. This collection has materials from a wide variety of authors and organizations.
  • Civil Rights/Black Liberation Movements Organizations
    Civil Rights/Black Liberation Movements Organizations
    This collection contains materials on organizations involved in the Civil Right and Black Liberation Movements including SNCC, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and the Black Liberation Army.
  • New Afrikan Independence Movement
    New Afrikan Independence Movement
    The New Afrikan Independence Movement (NAIM) was founded in 1968. There have been many formations that also adopted the RNA’s principles around developing a New Afrikan national identity and striving to build the New Afrikan nation-state.
  • The Black Scholar
    The Black Scholar
    Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969 by Robert Chrisman and Nathan Hare, THE BLACK SCHOLAR (TBS) is the first journal of Black studies and research.
  • Voices from the South
    Voices from the South
    This collection is comprised of materials from the African-American Civil Rights Movement from 1955-1968. This collection features materials pertaining to Freedom Schools, The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Selma to Montgomery March.
  • Urban Rebellions
    Urban Rebellions
    This collection contains materials pertaining to the numerous rebellions that erupted in urban centers across America in the mid and late 1960s.

Documents

Ossie Davis Recites Frederick Douglass Ossie Davis Recites Frederick Douglass
Format: mp3Producers: Claude Marks, Mark Schwartz, Lincoln BergmanProgram: Real Dragon, assorted insertsCollection: Black Liberation
A sample of Ossie Davis reciting Frederick Douglass' “West India Emancipation Speech" originally delivered on August 3, 1857. Davis' narration was delivered at an event for the San Quentin 6 on March 3, 2000. _____ On August 3, 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York. Most of the address was a history of British efforts toward emancipation as well as a reminder of the crucial role of the West Indian slaves in that own freedom struggle.
Maya Angelou reads Harriet Tubman Maya Angelou reads Harriet Tubman
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: mp3Collection: Black Liberation
Excerpt of Maya Angelou reading "Harriet Tubman" by Margaret Walker at at 1972 benefit for Angela Davis.
James Baldwin and American Identity [mp3] James Baldwin and American Identity [mp3]
Year: 1963Format: mp3Collection: Black Liberation
In this clip, taken from a speech given in 1963 James Baldwin addresses the genocide and slave labor that is largely denied by the history of the 'formation' of the United States.
Black Liberation Part 1 Black Liberation Part 1
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Black Liberation
Sweet Honey In The Rock - "Give Your Hands to Struggle" James Baldwin - about his visit to a slave station near Dakar in Senegal. He expresses his pain as he tries to imagine how the slaves might have felt as they awaited the middle passage. How they were met with the gun and the bible when they arrived and how white America denies and even justifies this history Sweet Honey In The Rock continued Freedom medley - a mix of songs from the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960’s
Ronald "Elder" Freeman on his life and the Black Panther Party - 1 Ronald "Elder" Freeman on his life and the Black Panther Party - 1
Date: 6/13/2014Call Number: CD 933Format: CDProducers: Walter TurnerProgram: Africa TodayCollection: Black Liberation
Ronald "Elder" Freeman discusses his life growing up in Los Angeles and joining the LA Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Edited portions were used for an Africa Today and Transitions on Traditions special on him - September 22, 2014 - which also includes interviews with Ronald Freeman, Ericka Huggins, Harold Taylor and Willie “Sundiata” Tate. The program was broadcast shortly before Ronald Freeman's transition on October 8, 2014. His brother, Roland Freeman also died exactly a week after Elder, October 15, 2014, at New York’s La Guardia Airport as he was preparing to bring Elder’s ashes back to California.
Bastards of the Party [DVD] Bastards of the Party [DVD]
Call Number: V 904Format: DVDCollection: Black Liberation
Raised in the Athens Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, Cle Bone Sloan was four years old when his father died, and 12 when he became a member of the Bloods. Now an inactive member of the notorious gang, Sloan looks back at the history of black gangs in his city and makes a powerful call for change in modern gang culture with his insightful documentary, Bastards of the Party. Bastards of the Party draws its title from this passage in City of Quartz: The Crips and the Bloods are the bastard offspring of the political parties of the ’60s. Most of the gangs were born out of the demise of those parties. Out of the ashes of the Black Panther Party came the Crips and the Bloods and the other gangs. Bastards of the Party traces the timeline from that great migration to the rise and demise of both the Black Panther Party and the US Organization in the mid- 1960s, to the formation of what is currently the culture of gangs in Los Angeles and around the world. The documentary also chronicles the role of the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI in the evolution of gang culture. During his tenure from 1950 to 1966, Chief Robert Parker bolstered the ranks of the LAPD with white recruits from the south, who brought their racist attitudes with them. Parker’s racist sympathies laid the groundwork for the volatile relationship between the black community and the LAPD that persists today.
Ronald "Elder" Freeman on his life and the Black Panther Party - 2 Ronald "Elder" Freeman on his life and the Black Panther Party - 2
Date: 6/13/2014Call Number: CD 934Format: CDProducers: Walter TurnerProgram: Africa TodayCollection: Black Liberation
Ronald "Elder" Freeman discusses his life growing up in Los Angeles and joining the LA Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Edited portions were used for an Africa Today and Transitions on Traditions special on him - September 22, 2014 - which also includes interviews with Ronald Freeman, Ericka Huggins, Harold Taylor and Willie “Sundiata” Tate. The program was broadcast shortly before Ronald Freeman's transition on October 8, 2014. His brother, Roland Freeman also died exactly a week after Elder, October 15, 2014, at New York’s La Guardia Airport as he was preparing to bring Elder’s ashes back to California.
Harold Taylor discusses Ronald "Elder" Freeman Harold Taylor discusses Ronald "Elder" Freeman
Date: 7/2014Call Number: CD 935Format: CDProducers: Walter TurnerProgram: Africa TodayCollection: Black Liberation
Harold Taylor discusses Ronald "Elder" Freeman and growing up in Los Angeles and joining the LA Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Edited portions were used for an Africa Today and Transitions on Traditions special on him - September 22, 2014 - which also includes interviews with Ronald Freeman, Roland Freeman, Ericka Huggins and Willie “Sundiata” Tate. The program was broadcast shortly before Ronald Freeman's transition on October 8, 2014. His brother, Roland Freeman also died exactly a week after Elder, October 15, 2014, at New York’s La Guardia Airport as he was preparing to bring Elder’s ashes back to California.
The Trials of Muhammad Ali [DVD] The Trials of Muhammad Ali [DVD]
Publisher: Kartemquin FilmsCall Number: V 922Format: DVDProducers: Aaron Wickenden, Dan RybickyCollection: Black Liberation
The Trials of Muhammad Ali covers the explosive crossroads of Ali’s life. When Cassius Clay becomes Muhammad Ali, his conversion to Islam and refusal to serve in the Vietnam War leave him banned from boxing and facing a five-year prison sentence. Ali’s choice of belief and conscience over fame and fortune resonates far beyond the boxing ring, striking issues of race, faith and identity that continue to confront us all today.
Stop Police Brutality Pamphlet Stop Police Brutality Pamphlet
Publisher: Mobilization Committee Against Police BrutalityYear: 1979Call Number: Format: PamphletProducers: Mobilization Committee Against Police BrutalityCollection: Black Liberation
Pamphlet of names of Black and Brown people murdered at the hands of police between 1979-1980 in United States.