Dr. Harold Freeman (Finding Aid)

Dr. Harold Freeman

1933 -

Favorite Color: Yellow

Favorite Food: Corn

Favorite Time of Year: The Caribbean

Favorite Vacation Spot: Spring and Summer

Interview Length: 152 minutes

Interview Date(s): May 17, 2001

Interview Location(s): North General Hospital, Harlem, New York, New York

Abstract

Dr. Harold P. Freeman talks about his family background from the antebellum period to the 1920s. He tells about a slave ancestor from North Carolina who, by being allowed to retain half of his off-plantation earnings as a carpenter, saved up enough to purchase his freedom in 1838 and took at that time the name "Freeman"; Another ancestor, Robert Freeman, graduated from Harvard Dental School and was the first African American dentist. Dr. Harold Freeman's grandfather was also a physician in Washington, D.C., and his father, Clyde, an attorney. His mother, Lucille, was born in Galveston, Texas, and raised by her mother and a stepfather, Rev. Thomas. In her teens she moved to D.C., and met Clyde Freeman at a tennis tournament in Philadelphia. Dr. Harold P. Freeman recalls his childhood in Washington D.C., and talks about his family, school, faithful attendance at Catholic church, and the family's strong focus on tennis. As a toddler he was taken to the tennis court by his mother, Lucille Thomas Freeman, and by age five he was playing himself. Within a few years he was playing in tournaments of the black-only American Tennis Association and at age fifteen was the national champion in his age group. Dr. Freeman sees both religion and tennis as positive forces affecting his mental and spiritual growth during his youth. He reflects on his father's death when he was thirteen and his mother's dedication in raising her family as a single parent from that time on. He also considers at length the "peculiar situation" of segregation having some positive side-effects, such as cohesive black communities and excellent black schools like Paul Laurence Dunbar High School which he attended. Dr. Harold P. Freeman talks about his secondary and higher education and medical training. He shares a strong memory of crushing experience at Paul Laurence Dunbar High school in Washington, D.C. when a black guidance counselor cautioned students that setting "unrealistic" professional career goals would only lead to disappointment; Freeman recalls that when he returned home in tears, his mother, furious with the counselor, managed to talk him into not giving up his dream of becoming a doctor. Freeman goes on to recall his years at Catholic University, where he won a high award and captained the tennis and basketball teams. He describes the hard work involved at Howard University School of Medicine, his decision to become a surgeon, his internship and residency at Freedman's Hospital and further surgical residency at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He talks about his mentor at Memorial, Dr. Arthur Holleb, who later went to the American Cancer Society, and recalls confronting Holleb in 1978 over the lo Dr. Harold P. Freeman talks about his medical training, his work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and at Harlem Hospital, the increasing public attention to cancer in the 1960s-1970s and his own developing interest in the connections between race, poverty and disease. Dr. Harold P. Freeman talks about the intersections between race, culture, poverty and disease, about the changing nature of racism in America, and how viewing people through the lens of race affects their health care. He discusses his ideas about patient navigation to improve access to treatment for those diagnosed with cancer and how a program utilizing these ideas has been successful in Harlem. He also discusses his future; he plans to continue his work with the new cancer center at North General Hospital in Harlem, and his hopes to influence policy on a larger scale as Chair of the President's Cancer Panel and as Director of the National Cancer Institute's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. Dr. Harold P. Freeman talks about his 1990 research paper showing that a black male in Harlem has less of a chance of reaching age 65 than a male growing up on Bangladesh. Looking back over his life, he reflects that in his case, adversity made him stronger. He considers the accomplishements he has made and what he would like his legacy to be.

40 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)