Inside the colorful multipurpose room at E.E. Miller Elementary School, rows of second- through fifth-grade students sat cross-legged on the floor, their attention fixed on the stage.
At the center, a gold-wrapped table caught the light beneath the overhead fixtures. A banner reading “The FLEX Initiative” stood nearby, while a projection screen glowed behind it.
Moments earlier, students watched a video introducing “Thought Bubble,” a collection of books by James Freeman rooted in his childhood growing up in the South Bronx alongside his brothers, shaped by everyday experiences, lessons, and imagination.
“These stories are real-life moments,” Freeman told students during the event on April 14. He described the series as built on “humor, heart, and everyday adventures that teach honesty, courage, and self-belief.”
Just moments later, a ceremonial ribbon—held between Freeman and Principal Hannah Gray—was cut, marking the official launch of his literacy initiative at the school his daughter attends.
Freeman, known in Fayetteville as “Freezy the Barber,” has built a career as both a barber and self-published author, a journey he now brings into classrooms.
After the ribbon cutting, one by one, students were called forward.
Microphones in hand, they stood beside Freeman and began reading aloud from a literary declaration marking the launch of his “Thought Bubble” book series at their school.
Among them was his daughter, Journey Jane, a second-grade Spanish immersion student at E.E. Miller.
The framed declaration centered on a simple message: their thoughts, shaped by experience and perspective, have value and can be transformed into stories worth telling.
“It starts with getting kids to care about their own thoughts,” he said. “When I show them that a simple moment can turn into a story, it makes reading and writing feel real to them.”
Long before Freeman was introducing students to his “Thought Bubble” series, he was a child learning to see value in his own ideas—encouraged early on by his mother, Alma Mae Mack, who pushed him to write and express himself.
As a child, Freeman published his first poem at just 7 years old, an experience that shaped how he would later approach storytelling, literacy and mentorship.
“That’s where this comes from,” he said. “Being seen, being heard, and having someone take your thoughts seriously.”
Those early lessons would eventually grow into Washington Avenue Press LLC, the publishing company behind “Thought Bubble”—and the work he is now bringing into classrooms like E.E. Miller.
Helping Students ‘Use Their Minds on Purpose’
That work is now taking shape through the FLEX Initiative, a school-based effort Freeman introduced during his visit to E.E. Miller. The launch marked more than a book event—it was an entry point into a broader approach to literacy and learning, one centered on how students think, not just what they read.
Described as a call to action rather than a formal program, FLEX encourages students to become more intentional with their thinking and decision-making.
“FLEX stands for focusing, learning, expressing, and executing your thoughts,” Freeman said. “But the core meaning is about what direction you’re choosing.”
The goal, he said, is to give students something they can apply in real time—whether that means slowing down before reacting, choosing to stay focused, or putting their ideas into words.
“It’s about teaching kids to use their minds on purpose,” he said. “Instead of being told what not to do, they’re being shown how to shift their thinking and move in a better direction.”
That mindset is reinforced through “Thought Bubble,” which draws from his childhood growing up in the Bronx during the 1980s and ’90s. The stories center on everyday moments—getting lost on a bus ride, facing difficult choices, and learning to tell the truth— encouraging students to think through situations rather than simply absorb a lesson.
“They’re not just reading words,” Freeman said. “They’re thinking about what’s happening, what they would do and why.”
Building Readers by Creating Writers
While the FLEX Initiative introduces students to storytelling, Freeman said the work doesn’t stop with a single visit. He plans to return to E.E. Miller to build ongoing relationships with students through mentorship, including leading writing workshops and working with student groups such as an after-school boys program.
“My main thing is mentorship,” Freeman said. “This is something that keeps them focused. It gives them a new interest in completing something.”
For Gray, that consistency is where the impact begins to take shape—especially when it comes to literacy.
“It’s bringing together social-emotional learning along with the academic piece of the writing process,” Gray said. “Students aren’t just writing to complete an assignment—they’re writing with purpose, and that builds confidence.”
Gray said opportunities like Freeman’s workshops help students strengthen foundational skills while also encouraging creativity.
“When students see themselves in stories, or realize they can create their own, it deepens their engagement,” she said. “That’s where you start to see growth—not just in writing, but in how they think and express themselves.”
At a school like E.E. Miller, where students attend year-round and the campus has recently been part of broader district conversations around consolidation and calendar changes, Gray said creating consistent, meaningful learning experiences is especially important.
“This is about giving students something they can connect to, no matter what changes may be happening around them,” she said.
For parent Michelle Cazarez, that sense of connection is exactly why the initiative resonates.
“Everyone is allowed to come here and show up as authentically them,” she said. “And when you give kids something like this—where they can express themselves and be creative—it sticks with them.”
She said her son, Gus, has always had an active imagination, but the experience helped him see it differently.
“He’s always had ideas, but now he sees that those ideas can actually turn into something,” she said.
She recalled the moment that shift clicked.
“When we first told Gus that he’s an author, he said, ‘I know an author,’” she said. “That changed everything for him.”
Gus said the experience made writing feel more real.
“I’ve wanted to be an author since I was three,” he said. “I have all these ideas in my thought bubble, and I just want to let them out.”
Alma Mae Mack Youth Ink Initiative
In September, Freeman plans to expand the effort beyond a single school, launching the Alma Mae Mack Youth Ink Initiative across Cumberland County Schools.
The initiative will invite elementary students to submit original writing, with one student selected to become a published author through Washington Avenue Press LLC. The student’s work will be produced and distributed, with full credit and royalties going directly to them.
For Freeman, the goal is to create opportunities for students to see their ideas as something more.
“Sometimes something small can stay with you for a long time,” he said. “And when you write it down, it becomes something bigger.”
