Freddie Williams, a professional barber and lifetime resident in the Middletown area, said he has always put the community at the heart of his work.
His downtown barbershop on Main Street is an anchor for various community drives and a space where neighborhood kids learn the value of hard work.
He has been involved in coaching sports for well over 20 years, through which many young men found the support and discipline that was missing at home.
First elected to the Enlarged Middletown District school board in 2020, Williams said he felt fortunate to have another avenue to serve the community.
“I love the direction the district is going in,” Williams told The Epoch Times. “I just look forward to being able to put in more work, help the kids progress, and be there for them.”
‘A Community Guy’
Born in the City of Middletown, Williams moved to Scotchtown with his family as a kid and switched to Pine Bush School District.
He said the district had a different demographic than that of Middletown, which—though challenging to adapt to in the beginning—enlarged his life experiences in the long run.
“I think it prepares me more for life and how to deal with other people, other religions, and other races.”
He attended Orange County Community College for a year and left to work as a barber at 19.
“I kind of like being independent and being my own boss,” Williams said. “I told myself that if I do this, I have to put 1,000 percent in. I made the best of it.”
After working at two local barbershops for 18 years, he opened his own shop on North Street in 2018.
Through his shop, he organizes various drives with other community organizations and government agencies, such as Thanksgiving food giveaways, free toys during Christmas, and back-to-school supply drives.
He also hires neighborhood teenagers to sweep the floor on weekends so that they get a taste of the value of work.
“I was telling them, ‘Listen, you have to do the worst and be acknowledged for doing the work—one step at a time,’” he said.
One kid that started sweeping for him years ago works as a barber at his shop.
Another avenue that he touches young lives is through sports. He coordinated youth basketball with Middletown’s Parks and Recreation Department for over 20 years and jumpstarted its flag football program.
In 2018, he joined the Middletown High School’s My Brother’s Keeper program as a mentor.
Started by then-district employees Anthony Williams and Omar Perez, the program was based on the guidelines of former President Barack Obama’s nationwide initiative to prepare disadvantaged kids for future success.
“I am a community guy,” Williams said, adding that his heart for the community also enabled him to shed the fear of public speaking.
“As I talked more and more in front of kids and parents, that kind of brought me out of my shell, too,” he said. “Now I like being out in the forefront and representing the community.”
First School Board Term
As more people recognized his work in the community, Williams was urged to run for a seat on the Middletown District school board in 2020, he said.
He was elected at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and soon faced double pressure of barbershop closure during the lockdown and learning the way as a new board member through online meetings.
“I didn’t hit the ground running until my second year,” he said. “I was a sponge, and I was just sitting there and learning from a lot of people. I was understanding more.”
In the last three years, he said the My Brother’s Keeper program increased enrollment and just became an official chapter with the New York State Education Department.
He now sits on the program’s advisory board and directs its development.
One typical challenge district teenagers face is the difficult transition into high school life, coupled with a lack of support at home where single mothers work long hours—a gap that the program aimed to address, he said.
This year, the district began a new policy restricting cellphone use during the school day.
High schoolers must put their phones in a sealed pouch before entering the school building and cannot access them until the end of the school day, except for emergency reasons.
District Superintendent Amy Creeden proposed the policy to the school board to minimize social media distractions and promote engaged learning and in-person communications on campus, according to previous interviews with The Epoch Times.
Since the policy went into effect, quite a few parents and students voiced opposition at school board meetings, citing safety concerns, personal freedom, long lines at the building entrance, anxiety over losing access, and losing the ability to record evidence of inappropriate behaviors, such as harassment, etc.
Williams said while he understands the complaints, most district constituents were okay with the policy.
“I think it is doing more good than bad,” he said. “But there may be some revisions—we have only been doing it for that long, and we still have to iron out the wrinkles in it.”
He said the administration and the board are expected to review the policy outcomes in the summer.
Future
Williams said he hopes another school board term will see more progress in district programs, such as the My Brother’s Keeper and the Odyssey of the Mind.
The latter trains students to develop original solutions to real-life problems.
“I like seeing progress and the kids grow,” he said. “I’m not saying that other board members or candidates are not for that, but I’ve done it for so long, and it is just like second nature.”
Meanwhile, Williams is organizing a citywide back-to-school drive with other community organizations and the City of Middletown at Fancher-Davidge Park in August.
He also just started a nonprofit called Middletown Youth Sports to train kids in basketball before they get into school teams and is about to add boxing to the mix.
