Michael Byrd had just come home after spending 17 years in prison and didn’t even have an ID. Then he was introduced to the team at Freedom Reads through a reentry program called Emerge. In January 2024, he joined the team as a Library Production Assistant assembling and building bookcases, “and going into prisons to open Freedom Libraries.” But that was just the beginning.
“My new task at Freedom Reads is visuals and sound,” Michael says. “I’m learning from Tyler, [the Chief of the Library Division]. I never worked with furniture before Freedom Reads. I never worked with visuals either. Everything is new to me.”
A typical day? “We’re building furniture in the shop, getting it ready for library openings. But with the audio-visual stuff, I started learning by just showing up to events. Like we went to New York recently and I just jumped in. Unless you go to school, the only way to learn is hands-on. I love the challenge. There’s always something new.”
Today, Michael’s focus isn’t just on the work. It’s also on his family. Becoming a father shifted how he sees everything.
One of the first prisons Michael visited with Freedom Reads was in Rhode Island. He remembers hearing two staff members talking about The Count of Monte Cristo. “I had watched the film,” he says, “but hearing them talk made me want to read the book. It had so much more detail. And what’s wild is that two different team members loved it for completely different reasons. One saw the story as a man betrayed, going to prison and learning how to come back and serve. The other saw it as a man who rose from nothing and fooled everyone. That stuck with me.”
“At first, I was just focused on the job. Being that this is my first job, I felt like I had to go above and beyond. I still cherish my work, but now I never miss a doctor’s appointment. First day of school? I’m there. I realized I don’t want to miss my daughter’s first steps because I’m at work. Freedom Reads gives me that balance that I don’t think I could get it anywhere else.”
And perhaps the most meaningful part of the journey is what his daughter is learning by watching him.
“At first, I didn’t want her to know I had been incarcerated. It was selfish and I didn’t want to expose her to that,” he admits. “But now I know I have to tell her the truth. I made a mistake. But it’s not the end of everything. And I want her to see where I was, and where I am now.”
He pauses, then adds, “This is how I give back. I’m proud of what I do. I’m making amends in the best way I can.”