For 20 NBA seasons, Dr. Freeman served as player development mentor and character coach for the Washington Bullets/Wizards – surviving six coaching and three GM changes (1978-1998). Having grown up in Canada, it was during this time – working with NBA players – that his rather unique interest in Black History first emerged. Freeman also has served behind the scenes as a Secret Service chaplain since 2020.
In 1995 he co-authored the book, Return To Glory: The Powerful Stirring of the Black Race, with the foreword written by Julius “Dr. J” Erving. Eight years later he co-wrote the film version of that book, currently with Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English subtitles. Audiences around the world have experienced his intriguing presentation, “A White Man’s Journey into Black History”. It’s an eye-opening experience that transcends race.
With travels to over 55 countries, Joel has worked with the Association of International Schools for Africa (AISA), traveling extensively throughout the continent of Africa and conducting a number of training events for educators, government, and business leaders. He has also assisted in addressing issues surrounding conflict resolution, and tribal warfare in meetings with over 100 African kings and queens throughout Benin, Togo, and Nigeria.
Since 2005 Freeman has led annual experiential/educational tours to the land of Israel and also Greece, helping hundreds of people understand the significance of the ancient topographical, historical, geographical, political, educational and spiritual elements of both regions of the world.
Dr. Freeman’s 1:1, 3D replicas of the iconic Rosetta Stone are in museums (Houston Museum of Natural Science), libraries and private collections around the world. One of his ancient Egyptian replicas was part of the Vancouver, BC movie set during the 20th Century Fox filming of “Night at the Museum 3’’. Dr. Freeman officially launched the Rosetta Stone replica project at the Library of Congress (DC) in 2009, with his presentation, “The Mysterious Rosetta Stone: A Code-Crackin’ International Treasure” – launching other similar presentations at the National Security Agency (NSA), National Museum of Language, and other entities. He also has developed a short film, “Rosetta Stone: Replicating a Mystery.”
With over four decades of research (since 1980), Dr. Freeman has become a respected authority on Black History, creating the Freeman Institute® Black History Collection, which consists of over 3,000 authentic documents and artifacts (oldest piece dated 1553). Genuine items from his collection were showcased at the United Nations, NY headquarters in unprecedented back-to-back exhibitions on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, for three months in 2011 and also for three months in 2012 — with well over one million visitors. He has also conducted exhibitions at the White House Communications Agency, Clinton Presidential Library, Secret Service, NIH and many other venues. Hundreds of images from his collection are included in the BH365 curriculum.