frankie freeman is an amazing story. she is 94 years old and still has the passion to serve her community. at age 16, ms. freeman enrolled in her mother's alma mater hampton institute. in 1947, before the presiding officer or i were ever born, she earned a law degree from howard university law school. during that time period, as one might imagine there really weren't law firms that hired either women or african-americans, much less an african-american woman. so what did frankie freeman do? she decided to open her own law firm. she began her practice with divorce and criminal cases, and with a huge dose of pro bono cases. after two years she became legal counsel to the naacp legal team that filed suit against the st. louis board of education in 1949. in 1954, freeman was the lead attorney for the landmark case davis v. st. louis housing authority, which ended legal racial discrimination in public housing in st. louis. in the almost 60 years since that decision, ms. freeman hasslesly fought for civil rights at home in st.