Shadows Over Nine Mile: The Jennifer Harris Story

In this gripping episode of No Tears For Black Girls, we journey to Eastpointe, Michigan—a community where hope and hardship walk hand in hand. Through the lens of one devastating morning, host Samantha Paul peels back the layers of ordinary life to reveal the extraordinary resilience required to survive in a world that seldom offers second chances.

We meet Jennifer Harris—known as “Jamma” to friends and family—a devoted mother of six and the unbreakable backbone of her community, who worked tirelessly at a local McDonald’s for over fifteen years. On what started as another routine day, tragedy shatters the calm, when a confrontation erupts between Jennifer and a troubled coworker, Afeni Muhammad. The shocking violence that ensues leaves a family destroyed, a community in mourning, and difficult questions echoing far beyond Eastpointe’s tree-lined streets.

Samantha explores the powerful, often invisible pressures facing Black women in America’s working class, the overlooked warning signs of workplace violence, and the urgent need to address mental health in communities that have long been told to “push through.” With deep empathy and unflinching honesty, this episode unpacks the systemic failures and silent struggles that allowed heartbreak to spill over on that fateful July morning.

Listen as we honor Jennifer’s legacy, investigate the complexities of Afeni’s pain, and spotlight the everyday heroes who rise from tragedy. If you’ve ever wondered what makes a community endure—and what it costs when those burdens go unchecked—this is an episode you can’t afford to miss.

Featuring “Queen’s Crown” by the Crown & Soul Collective from the soundtrack of Price of Silence by J.C. Reedburg.

Stay loved. Stay blessed. Stay safe.

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
No tears for black girls when they disappear, No tears for
black girls like they were neverhere, but we remember will speak
their names. I got stayed home early
yesterday. I got sent home early today by
the same person. I'm telling you, she's a bully.

(00:24):
Today inside the 38th District Court in East, .26 year old
Athenee Badu Muhammad was arraigned on 1st degree murder
charges for stabbing and killingher manager, 39 year old
Jennifer Harris. Prior to the stabbing, Muhammad
was sent home by Harris for not performing her work duties and
told Harris I'll be back. East Point police officers,
during their swear to beforehandrevealed disturbing details

(00:45):
about what appeared to be a planned killing.
Muhammad admitted that she intended to kill Harris and
stated that after she was sent home, she drove to a nearby
park, decided to come back and stab Harris with a knife that
she had inside of her vehicle. When Muhammad returned to stab
Harris, she entered the back entrance with a hood mask over
her face in an attempt to conceal her identity and
attempted to flee the scene after the stabbing but was

(01:08):
stopped by an armed customer. What's more disturbing, Mohammed
posted videos to social media saying she was fed up with her
manager for repeatedly sending her home from work.
Mohammed's defense attorney argued for a bond, which
prompted A fiery response from the prosecutor, who pointed out
Mohammed has a criminal history of stabbing.
The defendant does have a prior instance of at least one that

(01:29):
I'm aware that involved a stabbing, similar obviously to
the stabbing that occurred in this case involving a knife, for
I am asking at this time for no bond in this case.
There's a certain rhythm to mornings in East Point,
Michigan, a city perched on Detroit's northeastern edge,
where suburban calm meets the realities of daily struggle.

(01:49):
Here you'll find neat tree linedblocks, churches on every corner
and neighbors waving across their lawns.
But East Point is defined as much by its resilience as its
quiet streets, a place shaped bydecades of working class grit,
shifting industries and, yes, the headlines that sometimes
spill over from Detroit. It's not the kind of city that

(02:13):
expects national attention. Most days are about making ends
meet, getting the kids off to school, clocking in for your
shift and trying to squeeze a little hope from life's daily
anxieties. East Point is built on the
ordinary, powered by the extraordinary strength of the
people who call it home. But on a quiet Thursday morning,

(02:34):
something happened inside a local McDonald's that shattered
the routine and sent shock wavesfar beyond those familiar
blocks. What began as another work day
ended in tragedy, one that wouldripple through East Point and
beyond. Today we take you inside a story
of work, struggle, heartbreak, and the invisible burden so many

(02:57):
carry in modern America. Jennifer Harris, her friends
called her JAMA, was the kind ofperson who held everything
together even as life tried to tear her apart.
At 39, Jennifer was a mother of six, working double shifts at
the same McDonald's on 9 Mile Rd. for 15 years.

(03:17):
Her smile was her armor, her discipline legendary, her
compassion unbreakable. She was mother, father, provider
and friend to kids ranging from 5 to 20.
Their father was behind bars, soJennifer had to be everything.
For her, the job was never just a paycheck.
It was family, community, survival.

(03:40):
But not everyone saw Jennifer asa friend.
Tension simmered between her andone employee, Afani Badu.
Muhammad. Afani, 26, was new to East
Point, drifting from state to state, job to job, her past
marked by pain. Her social media was a storm of
music, rants against bullies andcryptic posts about feeling

(04:03):
misunderstood. Darkness clung to her, both
online and off. Years earlier in Virginia, Afini
had been involved in another stabbing.
Different state, same shadows. In the days before the tragedy,
Afini felt increasingly singled out at work.
Two days before the attack, she vented on Instagram.

(04:25):
I got sent home early yesterday.I got sent home early today by
the same person. I'm telling you, she's a bully.
She needs to understand that just because she's a mother and
got children doesn't mean she can come in this store
disrespecting people. She can keep being a bully if
she wants to, but that shit is going to catch up to her.
Afeni believed she was being disrespected, targeted.

(04:46):
The divide between her and Jennifer grew into a chasm,
deepened by resentments and pains invisible to the outside
world. Then came July 10th, 2025.
Just before 8:00 AM, Jennifer sent Afini home from her shift
staff heard Afini say, I'll be back.
No one knew how dangerous that promise would prove.

(05:08):
Afini left, drove to a nearby park, and sat alone in her car,
rage building. She grabbed a knife she kept
hidden, pulled a mask over her face, and returned to
McDonald's, slipping in through the employee entrance.
Inside, the routine shattered inan instant.
Still masked, a Feeny rushed behind the counter and attacked

(05:30):
Jennifer without warning. 15 stab wounds, each one fueled by
unchecked anger and desperation.It happened in seconds.
Out in the drive through, a customer heard the screams, saw
the attack and acted fast. Armed and licensed, the customer
fired a warning shot, then chased a feeny to her car and

(05:51):
held her at gunpoint until police arrived.
One person's quick thinking may have prevented an even greater
tragedy. Jennifer was rushed to the
hospital, but her injuries were too severe.
She died doing what she'd alwaysdone, working to give her
children a future. The news hit East Point and
Detroit like a tidal wave. Six children, now orphaned,

(06:14):
faced a loss too big to fathom. The McDonald's parking lot, once
a sight of morning greetings, became a place for vigils and
balloon releases. A GoFundMe was launched for
Jennifer's children. As neighbors, city leaders and
McDonald's owners mourned a losstoo immense for words in court,
the horror came to light. Afani Muhammad was arraigned for

(06:38):
first degree premeditated murderand carrying a dangerous weapon
with unlawful intent. Her bond was set at $25 million
with strict conditions if posted.
She remains in Macomb County Jail awaiting her hearing.
More details emerged. Afini's past included another

(06:59):
stabbing in Virginia, While her social media revealed spirals of
anger, paranoia and untreated wounds.
Mental health advocates asked tough questions.
What signs were missed? What help never came?
Online? The debate raged.
Some condemned A Fanny. Others saw her as a casualty of

(07:20):
a broken system. But none of it can bring
Jennifer back. No explanation, no sympathy, no
hashtag can heal the hole in herchildren's lives.
The story of Jennifer Harris andAfini Muhammad is a warning, a
tragedy born of hidden struggles, invisible burdens,
and what happens when those burdens finally break the

(07:42):
surface. Let's pause to consider what
lies behind so many stories likethis, workplace violence and
mental health. The truth is, most acts of
violence at work don't come out of nowhere.
They build in the shadows, in silence, in people bottling up
hurt, fear, resentment, and trauma until something finally

(08:04):
snaps. In the Black community
especially, many of us are taught to push through, to work
twice as hard to survive. But we're rarely taught how to
care for our mental health, to check in with ourselves or reach
out for help before things fall apart.
The stigma is heavy, like a chain against seeking therapy or

(08:26):
simply admitting I'm not OK. That silence can be deadly, not
just for us, but for everyone around us.
If you're listening right now and you're struggling, please
know you are not alone. There is no shame in needing
help. There is real power in reaching
out for yourself and those who love you.

(08:48):
Sometimes that call for help is the difference between hope and
heartbreak. Up next is Queen's Crown by the
Crown and Soul Collective, an original song from the
soundtrack for the novel Price of Silence by JC Reidberg.
Thank you for listening to No Tears for Black Girls, this is
Samantha Paul. Stay loved, stay blessed, and

(09:10):
stay safe. Build my Kingdom with these

(09:35):
healing hands, Each woman's crown restored with care, While
outside they count the missing sisters whose stories never make
the evening air sell on. Bearers tell the truth.
They hide each chair, holding secrets they can't say.

(10:09):
I see beneath the makeup smells,feel the tremble when she takes
my head in this chair. Confessions deeper than the

(10:30):
church pews. Some press spoken through the
things we can't name. I'm fixing grounds but missing
all the warnings. Fortune changed my hands but not

(10:51):
my sight. Thought I could save the world
but couldn't save myself. Sometimes silent speaks when
voices die. Numbers fell like lessons from
above. Thought I found my purpose.

(11:13):
Thought I'd found my love letters from behind bars.
Painted freedom's promise, his words like honey hiding venom
inside my Kingdom built on truthbecame a prison as I fought for
others. Because while losing myself now

(11:38):
my spirit walks these floors, Myblood speaks louder than before.
Through coat it braids and hidden truth.

(12:03):
The Queen has fallen, but her message rose with back in choir
Legacy lives on through every crown I turn.
The truth revealed at last singsto worry.

(12:29):
He still stands long after I am gone now I wasn't seeing what I
could in my story. Breaks the silence of the tomb.
The Queen had to fall so others learn to rise.

(12:54):
My Kingdom stands a shelter fromthe storm.