Stacey Muhammad is, at her core, an artist. On the latest episode of Mompreneurs, the independent filmmaker and television director—whose credits include Queen Sugar, Harlem, and Cross—reflects on her career in a candid conversation with host Nancy Redd about filmmaking, activism and the power of honest storytelling.
From her award-winning filmmaking debut, I Am Sean Bell, to directing hit TV shows like Black-ish and Bel-Air, Muhammad never doubted her place as an artist. “I’ve always been an artist,” she said.
Throughout her career, Muhammad focused on storytelling that highlighted justice, truth and the Black experience. “The work that I do is very much rooted in Black liberation,” said the For Colored Boys director. “It’s always at the forefront of what I’m doing.”
“Being an artist is being of service.” – Stacey Muhammad, filmmaker and activist
Source: Stacey Muhammad
Her motivation for pursuing film was clear from the start. “My entry into filmmaking was from an activist’s perspective: How can I use my voice and these tools to tell stories about Black liberation?”
Foregoing traditional film school, Muhammad assembled her own education in filmmaking—attending the Digital Film Academy in New York City and learning from industry experts like Howard University film professor and filmmaker Haile Gerima, casting director Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd, and director Michael “Boogie” Pinckney.
“I was very hands-on, very passionate, because I was a little bit older…It was about picking up a camera, being in New York at the time, working with Michael “Boogie” Pinckney, meeting a lot of people who worked with Spike Lee…And we were just out shooting our stuff, following our passion, and learning along the way.”
“Scarcity Means I Don’t Get To Live My Life As An Artist”
Muhammad was living in Brooklyn when she filmed I Am Sean Bell: Black Boys Speak (2009), an award-winning documentary short that captures how Sean Bell’s murder affected his New York City community.
Muhammad’s daughter, Kai, was in middle school at the time. “The young boys in that film are her classmates,” the filmmaker shared. “I wanted to talk to young Black boys about their experiences moving around Brooklyn, walking to school.”
At the time, Muhammad was working at HBO in the shipping department, one of the “few jobs” she’s ever had, she said. Ultimately, she left the company to move forward in filmmaking. “I ended up quitting because every film festival I wanted to enter was HBO-sponsored,” she said. “The next year, I Am Sean Bell won best short film at the HBO/Media That Matters Film Festival…I was right there in the same building that I worked in for HBO—now winning for, you know, a short film that really kicked off the rest of my career.”
The decision to quit wasn’t hard. “It makes sense that I would have been afraid of quitting my job, but I wasn’t,” she said. “Scarcity for me means that I don’t get to live my life as an artist. I just feel like everything else is going to work itself out.”
“It’s An Ancestral Story About Black Folks Fighting For What They Deserve”
The director spoke about the profound impact of having mentors and supporters who invested in her vision and opened doors—people like Ava DuVernay, Marc Lamont Hill, Malcolm D. Lee, and Charles S. Dutton, “all the people that have been incredibly supportive of my work and my journey.”
Next, Muhammad is bringing her vision to a feature-length project, The Return, working alongside Blackmaled Productions. “It’s an ancestral New Orleans story about Black folks fighting for what they absolutely deserve,” said the New Orleans native. “It’s an ancestral story for me. It’s in the area where my ancestors were enslaved.”
“I Put In The Work Because I Love Doing The Work”
Muhammad’s formula for success is simple. “Do the work, do it for the right reasons, and everything else that you want will absolutely come.”
Ultimately, her commitment to producing quality, meaningful work became her signature—unlocking new opportunities and bigger projects. “Same thing with Whoopi Goldberg,” she said. “We met as a result of For Colored Boys. Years later, I’m directing her on Harlem. So it really is just about doing the work for the right reasons because people don’t feel desperation, they feel authenticity from you.”
“It’s Not Always Pretty”
Muhammad is a proud mom to her daughter, photographer, and music producer, Kai, who’s been by her side since the start of her filmmaking career. “She’s incredibly talented. She’s been with me for my entire journey,” the mompreneur said. “A lot of the projects I’ve done, she’s been right next to me, helping me conceptualize this work. She’s been an ear, she’s been encouraging, and I’m just really proud of her.” She isn’t afraid to admit that their relationship hasn’t always been perfect. “It’s not always pretty,” she reflected. “I think that being honest about that is important.”
That honesty resides at the heart of her artistic expression. “A lot of this work for me has been about healing, transparency, and honesty,” the filmmaker said. “If there’s one thing that people really resonate with, from me and the work that I do, is that it’s honest. It may not always be comfortable, but it’s going to be honest.”
Don’t miss out on the full conversation. Watch this episode of Mompreneurs above.
Catch New Episodes Of Mompreneurs Every Week
Welcome to Season 4 of Mompreneurs—where we spotlight brilliant Black women who are building their businesses and raising their families with strength and style. Join host and New York Times bestselling author Nancy Redd as these inspiring mompreneurs share their stories and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Catch new episodes of Mompreneurs every Monday on MadameNoire’s YouTube channel or listen to the podcast online on the Urban One Podcast Network.
