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“I want our young women to also see more role models,” she said. “I am putting out a public call that every person, our Black women entertainers, legislators, whoever they are need to select an HBCU or an institution – even if it' s not an HBCU, but has a Black woman president – and send her some money. It will encourage that woman’s heart.” The Benson, North Carolina native currently works as a program director for Sampson Jefferson & Associates, where she partners with the Bureau of Prisons giving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons a second chance at life through a faith-based community re-entry network. The organization provides resources that assist with education opportunities, housing, healthcare, voting rights, jobs, and more. “Try to be a person who operates with integrity. Have some character because your good name matters. Yes, you’re going to get knocked down. You’re going to get kicked. People are going to disparage you, discount the good work that you did, but you cannot give up.”
She also worked to pull Martin University from the verge of losing its accreditation. During Dr. Freeman’s tenure at Martin University, the institution landed a partnership with NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The then head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Caldwell purchased new technology for Martin University. In 2014, Dr. Freeman became the president of Wilberforce University, the oldest private HBCU. The university had a $9 million deficit, a steep decline in enrollment, and a show cause order. Dr. Freeman recalls having to prepare over 3,000 documents in two months to prevent the university from losing its accreditation. “Writing those 3,000 pages, we were working in some of the most horrific, horrendous circumstances you can imagine – but I could hear W.E.B. Dubois, who taught at Wilberforce. I could hear Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune saying, ‘you can’t give up.’ It was like
going to war to save that institution.” In hindsight, Dr. Freeman realized that her calling was to reestablish the foundations of institutions that had got into challenging circumstances. “My job was to go in, correct and rebuild those foundations so that they could still be operating today.” In 2017, Dr. Freeman was called to work as an accreditation consultant for Saint. Augustine’s University, a small private HBCU in Raleigh, North Carolina. “[Saint Augustine’s] kept their accreditation and is still operating today. I believe I made history in being the only person who has helped to save the accreditation and keep the doors of four institutions open.” One of Dr. Freeman’s ultimate goals is to help more Black women become presidents or chancellors at higher education institutions or business owners or CEOs of corporations or foundations.
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