For 20 NBA seasons, Dr. Freeman served as a player development mentor and character coach for the Washington Bullets/Wizards, surviving six coaching and three GM changes from 1978 to 1998. Despite growing up in Canada, it was during his time working with NBA players that his unique interest in Black History first emerged. Freeman has also served 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 the book, which currently has Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English subtitles. Audiences around the world have experienced his intriguing presentation "A White Man's Journey into Black History," 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 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 even 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." He has also 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. He created the Freeman Institute® Black History Collection, which consists of over 3,000 authentic documents and artifacts (the oldest piece is dated 1553). Genuine items from his collection were showcased at the United Nations' New York headquarters in unprecedented back-to-back exhibitions on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, for three months in 2011 and again 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.
