Raised amid poverty and segregation in the Mississippi Delta, Sister April Muhammad learned early what hardship looked like — and what perseverance required.

“We were born and raised on a plantation. So, it wasn’t a working plantation, but it was a plantation nonetheless,” recalled the recent law school graduate of her childhood in Clarksdale, Final Call reported.

As she reflected on a family history shaped by enslavement and sharecropping, she remembered knowing, even as a young girl, that she wanted to become a lawyer.

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“Clarksdale, that was hard living, that was a hard life. Most of our people were poor, and very few were doing well, and if you go to Clarksdale now, it looks about the same.”

She grew up in a town marked by racial division and lingering segregation.

“Black people lived on one side of town and Whites lived on one side and a [train] track ran right through the middle. Even in my time, there was segregation. Most of our people were suffering and I thought that law was the way to best serve those people.”

That calling, she said, was divinely placed. “Allah (God) just put that in me… but life gets challenging because we have so many trials that come upon us and law school was hard.”

New Life

At 20, Sis. April moved to Memphis, registered in the Nation of Islam in 1994, and later married Brother Cedric Muhammad. Together, they blended families and raised eight children.

“He had two children, and I had three, and we came together, and we had three more… and so, of course, that keeps you busy,” she reflected.

Six months into their marriage, tragedy struck when Bro. Cedric became seriously ill with heart complications.

“He never really bounced back,” she shared. In 2021, Sis. April endured profound loss with the passing of both her husband and her mother, Virginia Davis. Amid grief, she remembered her mother’s unfulfilled dream of becoming a nurse — a memory that reignited her own.

In 2022, at age 50, Sis. April was accepted into the University of Arkansas William H. Bowen School of Law. For three and a half years, she commuted two hours daily while balancing family and mosque responsibilities — never missing or arriving late to class.

“It didn’t matter for me; I was going to achieve this goal,” she said. “Because it was so hard to get in law school and law school is hard.”

During her studies, she married Brother Bilal Muhammad, whose support proved invaluable. On December 13, she crossed the stage as a law school graduate.

Her dedication earned her a highly competitive federal judicial clerkship with Chief Justice Phyllis Jones of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

“I was steadfast in prayer… I couldn’t fail. I had to keep going. There isn’t anything we can’t accomplish if we really want it,” she said.

Her children and siblings describe her as relentless and inspiring.

“I look at her and there are no barriers,” said her daughter, Sis. Maryam Muhammad. “She is a fighter.”

“She removed all obstacles,” added her sister, Sis. Lydia Muhammad. “All I could think of was our mom and how proud she would be of April.”

Reflecting on her journey, Sis. April concluded with purpose and humility: “I am a colt and the Master has need of me… so I have to qualify myself.”