Dr. Harold P. Freeman is the descendant of a slave who bought his freedom and changed his name—hence, “Freeman.” Dr. Freeman is a great-grandnephew of Robert Freeman, the first African-American dentist, and a cousin of Robert Weaver, former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Lyndon Johnson, and the first African-American presidential cabinet member. 

In his early days, Dr. Freeman was a nationally ranked tennis player, winning doubles championships on the African-American tennis circuit with his brother Clyde as his partner. They played briefly in the U.S. Open, when the tournament was desegregated in the early 1950s. ■