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. 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.

Search Results

Passin’ It On: The Story of a Black Panther’s Search for Justice Passin’ It On: The Story of a Black Panther’s Search for Justice
Date: 1/1/1993Call Number: V 269Format: DVDProducers: John ValadezCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Utilizing archival footage and personal accounts, PASSIN' IT ON offers insight into the politics which defined the generation that came of age during the Civil Rights movement. As many African-Americans - especially in urban centers like New York - sought rapid change in their communities, the Black Panthers emerged as a highly visible and often misunderstood symbol of this movement, and became targets for federal surveillance and police harassment. With testimonies from Dhoruba's attorneys, jurors at his trial, New York's then Deputy Police Commissioner, and Dhoruba himself, PASSIN' IT ON sheds light on the Panthers' real goals and addresses the much larger social issues which gave rise to the Panthers then, and which remain unsettled today. As it examines broad themes of urban African-American life, PASSIN' IT ON tells Dhoruba's personal story. Following him from his South Bronx childhood through his activist days, prison experiences, and his current renewed involvement in the black community, the film provides a framework for recognizing his story as a caution against the excesses of state power. At a time when racial conflicts may once again build to a head, PASSIN' IT ON offers a view of where American society has been, and a glimpse at where it may be going.
The Black Panther Black Community News Service The Black Panther Black Community News Service
Publisher: The Black Panther PartyYear: 1971Volume Number: Vol. 6-6 March 6Format: PeriodicalCollection: Black Panther Party Community News Service
Cover Story: Free Kathleen Cleaver and All Political Prisoners