Frantz Michel
So much of success relies not on talent, but on opportunities. Without opportunities and resources, prosperity and achievement can often be unattainable. Formerly incarcerated individuals are often unlikely to receive opportunities as they are disadvantaged by their time away, and not given the benefit of the doubt when they return. That’s why it takes people like Frantz Michel to make sure that those with natural talent, passion, intelligence, and ingenuity can pursue careers and have open paths to success.
Frantz Michel is a 49 year old from Brooklyn, New York, who spent 15 years in federal prison. Now, he is the founder and executive director of Dream Deferred, an organization that trains formerly incarcerated people regarding how to use technology. Michel sees how knowing how to use technology is of the utmost importance for formerly incarcerated individuals trying to find work, and he also sees how challenging it can be to learn these things without help.
“When you're incarcerated, and you spend an extended period of time, technology changes every single day,” Michel said. “They don't understand anything about technology, using a computer, how a mouse works, how a keyboard works. It's just like being in the Stone Age.”
For people who went to prison before the early 2000s that only returned in the last five years, the entire world has changed since they’ve been away. Now, in order to succeed, one needs technological knowledge, no matter how much drive, passion, or skill they have. It is impossible to compete in this world today without technological knowledge. By operating Dream Deferred, Michel opens doors for formerly incarcerated individuals that normally would have stayed closed.
Technology allows formerly incarcerated people to navigate their new lives and provides opportunities for new jobs. The Dream Deferred program begins by teaching people how to use Microsoft Word and the entire Microsoft Office Suite. After that, they progress to learning how to download and operate software and how to manage the internet.
“Our mission is to train men and women on how to function in society using technology,” Michel said.
Michel feels lucky that he knew how to operate a computer before he went to prison. He believes his only saving grace when reentering the workforce was that he had lots of experience with computers from before prison. When Michel returned, he was able to get part-time work at a law firm, however when his new employer took him to his cubicle, he was given a computer with no instruction. If he had not had his prior knowledge, Michel would have been fired from the job before it even began.
“I thought to myself that day, if I didn't know how to use a computer, I would never have been able to get this job, a decent job on Park Avenue. I would have never been able to get that opportunity,” Michel said.
Michel still feels that if he could have learned even more or had even more opportunities, his whole life could have turned out differently.
“I went to prison for running a business. If the resources were given to me and the opportunity was given to me when I needed them, then I probably wouldn’t have been in that business. I probably [would] have been running a Fortune 500 company with no problem. I'm sure I could out-think most of the Fortune 500 CEOs right now,” Michel said.
Now, Michel works to make sure other people have these better opportunities and don’t end up in a difficult situation like his.
Michel actually came up with the idea to begin Dream Deferred while still in prison. During his incarceration, Michel would attend church services. At one service, he got an idea while listening to a preacher speak about a certain proverb.
“When he went to Proverbs, he spoke about ‘a dream deferred.’ And that was proverbs 13:12,” Michel said.
After returning to his room, Michel perseverated on this concept and thought about how it resonated with his own life and his own hopes being lost after becoming incarcerated. He revisited the preacher’s words.
“He spoke about this with such clarity and such intensity. And it fits us because my dream was deferred. When I went to prison, it was like my dream was deferred,” Michel said. “I want a bright future...I looked at the proverb. I was reading it, and it's proverbs 13:12. My birthday is 12/13.”
Michel took this as a sign that he was meant to start a program with this name. He wrote a rough outline of this idea into his bible, and the idea stayed with him all the way until he was released.
After leaving prison, Michel started his path to creating Dream Deferred, and soon found more and more signs that this organization was meant to be. Michel visited a professor he knew at NYU in order to get her opinion on his idea. After telling her everything, he looked up at the wall of her office and saw a quote from the poem by Langston Hughes, “A Dream Deferred.”
Michel immediately went to try and buy the domain name for “Dream Deferred.” He was told over and over again that it was highly unlikely that he would be able to buy this name, however fate seemed to strike again. Although the name dreamdeferred.com was taken, he was able to buy dreamdeferred.org with almost no problem.
From there, Michel has been able to develop his business and serve his clientele. However, though much of creating Dream Deferred seemed to be destiny, Michel’s own experience with reentry was anything but easy.
A major struggle Michel had to deal with was navigating parole. Michel feels that without being constantly monitored and controlled through parole, he could have done even more in the four years he had been home. While still being treated like a criminal by the state, he could not fully succeed and lacked certain opportunities.
For example, after leaving prison, Michel was living in Brooklyn, but he wanted to take a class in Manhattan in order to learn and better himself. However, due to his parole officer not allowing him to travel across the bridge into Manhattan, Michel had to forfeit this opportunity.
Michel has heard even worse stories from friends about the hardships of dealing with parole officers. He knows someone that lost a dream job after reentry because he struggled with getting permission for certain things from his parole officer. The parole officer would also show up at the person’s place of work, which often causes embarrassment and discomfort that prevents a formerly incarcerated person from being able to move on with their lives.
“It's like you are set up to fail,” Michel said.
Another friend of Michel’s was able to find a job opportunity where he would be at work until 4:30, however he had a standing meeting with his parole officer at 4:00. The friend asked to meet at another time, however the parole officer said no, forcing the man to quit his job and lose out on an opportunity.
Michel sees parole as one of the biggest issues in the reentry and incarceration systems.
“It's just a total nightmare dealing with probation and parole for most people. Then you have fines and fees and all types of different money that you have to pay. You know, different fines. And if you're not working, they violate you,” Michel said.
By “violate you,” Michel means that parole officers can send you back to prison at any time, sometimes for up to 90 days. The power they have over formerly incarcerated individuals is often debilitating and prohibitive in terms of job opportunities.
Michel sees how difficult reentry is and therefore has committed himself even further to making reentry easier. He not only runs Dream Deferred; he also is starting his own house that will act as a safe space for six formerly incarcerated women as they reenter society.
The idea for this home was inspired by Michel’s former partner, Vanee Sykes, who tragically passed away on May 24th, 2020 from COVID-19. Now, he is trying to keep their dream of making reentry better for formerly incarcerated people alive. Sykes was a strong proponent of creating support systems, for women specifically, returning from prison, and her passion and dedication are the driving force behind Michel’s new endeavor. The house is opening on May 24th, 2021, on the one year anniversary of Sykes’ passing.
“I believe that I want to open it up on that day, on the 24th,” Michel said. “I think that'd be the most beautiful way to honor her.”
The house is going to give trauma-informed care, meaning it will have programs with specific knowledge of how to help the women manage their trauma. The house will provide food, warmth, and a beautiful place to stay. Michel carefully decorated the house with the idea in mind of making it a happy place to be. He wants to treat the residents the way that he believes all formerly incarcerated people should be treated.
“I want when someone walks into that place, they can just see their lives transformed in that second,” Michel said. “They can see a brighter future immediately.”
Michel is honored to be a part of Witness to Mass Incarceration’s “The Map” in order to continue his work making reentry better for formerly incarcerated individuals. He feels that having a network of resources and fellow formerly incarcerated people will be so valuable for those starting their own business and moving forward with their lives.
“I know the importance of a network. I understand how networks work,” Michel said. “When you’re able to have a huge network, you can accomplish so many different things. You can accomplish all your goals because...the bigger the network, the bigger your net worth.”
Michel is also excited for other people to see all the formerly incarcerated businesses together at Witness’s July 18th Suitcase Sunday event. He believes it will show that formerly incarcerated people can do truly amazing things.
“It's like they thought we were stupid. We're not. We're full of confidence, to have the audacity to put together a business and make it succeed and believe that it's going to succeed. That's extreme boldness,” Michel said. “To see 200 people with like minds, that came from the same situation that you came from, all together in one place, speaks about the resilience of the former incarcerated. That's what speaks to the resilience of the human spirit.”
Until then, Michel is continuing to run his business and make people’s lives better.
“I love changing lives,” Michel said. “I love being in a position to help change a person's life and to give them the opportunity they always wanted to have and no one else gave it to them. That's why I love my job.”
This profile is written in honor of Vanee Sykes, a loving partner to Frantz Michel and a loving friend and business partner to Evie Litwok, founder of Witness. Thank you, Vanee, for inspiring all of us and leaving us your legacy so that we can continue your work of making the world a better place.
Abby Stern