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

Avotja poetry performance Avotja poetry performance
Date: 4/1/1986Call Number: LA 027Format: Cass A & BCollection: Puerto Rico
Avotja reading poetry - public event on Puerto Rican political prisoners. Off-mic recording. Gloria Alonzo, mc.
Felix Matta speaking at Puerto Rican Independence Event Felix Matta speaking at Puerto Rican Independence Event
Date: 11/17/1989Call Number: LA 028AFormat: Cass ACollection: Puerto Rico
Felix Matta speaking at a Solidarity event for Puerto Rican independence in San Francisco. Gloria Alunzo and Leslie Mullin give introductions. Slightly off-mic
Raphael Cancel Miranda speaking at Hunter College December 8, 1990 Raphael Cancel Miranda speaking at Hunter College December 8, 1990
Date: 12/8/1990Call Number: PM 172Format: Cass A & BCollection: Puerto Rico
Raphael Cancel Miranda speaking at Hunter College December 8, 1990
Puerto Rican Freedom Fighters Puerto Rican Freedom Fighters
Call Number: PM 193AFormat: Cass ACollection: Puerto Rico
Interviews with Dylcia Pagan, Judith Mirkinson, Eduardo Colon with Michael Deutsch, and Josephina Rodriguez.
En contacto directo / Art From Behind Prison Walls En contacto directo / Art From Behind Prison Walls
Call Number: LA 032AFormat: Cass AProducers: Sylvia Mulaly AguuirreProgram: El Contacto DirectoCollection: Struggles in Latin America
Spanish and English interview with Gloria Alonzo, National Committee to Free the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners, Bill Crossman, Friends of Elizam Escobar, and Enrique Chagoya, director Galeria de la Raza, on exhibit of art by Puerto Rican political prisoners. Continues 10 minutes on Side B.
Women in Prison Women in Prison
Call Number: PM 210Format: Cass A & BCollection: Prisons - Women
Intervew of Women in Prison, Dublin, CA 1995. Political prisoners Dylcia Pagan, Linda Evans, Ida Robinson, and Marilyn Buck are asked to speak about themselves and why they are in prison. The women also discuss the GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs), NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the lack of wages and benefits for the poor and oppressed, and the wrongs of the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Ida Robinson speaks about families of ethnic minorities, and Marilyn Buck speaks about how political prisoners aren’t violent, they are just casualties during the conflict. The women discuss the state of the poor white woman, how is marginalized because no one is fighting for her and she has no representation.
Female Political Prisoners - series of interviews Female Political Prisoners - series of interviews
Call Number: JG/ 070Format: CassetteProducers: Judy Gerber, Lisa RudmanProgram: KPFACollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
This is a collection of different interviews and recordings of female political prisoners from around the world. Lisa Rudman collages them together to show the injustice towards political prisoners and to highlight some of the many tactics used by the US government and prison system to get information out of political prisoners. Rudman defines political prisoners and interviews Laura Whitehorn and Linda Evans and speaks about their cases and the circumstances leading to their imprisonment. The other political prisoners interviewed on the tape are: Dora Garcia, active in the national liberation struggles in the US colony of Puerto Rico; Mercedes Algado, a refugee active in the FSLM and FDR in El Salvador; Elizabeth Sebego, active in the Pan African Congress; Assata Shakur, active with the Black Panthers and now a refugee in Cuba; a Filipina imprisoned for her work with the church.
Florence Prison and the Fight to Free Oscar Lopez Florence Prison and the Fight to Free Oscar Lopez
Date: 1/20/1995Call Number: JG/ 075AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberProgram: A Defiant HeartCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
Lugo Lopez and Alejandro Molina of the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (Chicago) protesting the imprisonment of Oscar Lopez, sentenced to 75+ years on seditious conspiracy charges for his political work in Puerto Rico.
Presentation on Puerto Rican political prisoners by Josefina Rodriguez Presentation on Puerto Rican political prisoners by Josefina Rodriguez
Date: 1/15/1989Call Number: LA 078Format: CassetteCollection: Puerto Rico
Josefina Rodrieguez, mother of two Puerto Rican prisoners in the United States speaks about her international work and solidarity with political prisoners, and her fight to have Puerto Rican political prisoners recognized around the world. She discusses also the prison conditions in which prisoners are subjected, expecially women prisoners within the system.
A Defiant Heart New Year 1995: Political Prisoner Program A Defiant Heart New Year 1995: Political Prisoner Program
Date: 12/30/1994Call Number: JG/ 089BFormat: Cass BProducers: Judy GerberProgram: A Defiant HeartCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
New Year 1995 show with a focus on political prisoners. Accounts of Puerto Rican political prisoners of the earlier 20th century. Reading of an article by Jan Sassler of the People’s Law Office of Chicago in ‘Bulldozer’ magazine that stresses biases in the American parole system. Discusses the San Francisco prison group Out of Control’s work as well as ‘The Key,’ a lesbian and gay prisoner newsletter.