Bilali Muhammad was born in West Africa to a highly educated family in 1770. He was captured when he was a teenager and brought as a slave to America. He lived on the rice plantations of Sapello Island in Georgia. Due to his leadership skills he managed the black slaves on the plantation. When there was a British attack on the island, he along with his fellow Muslim slaves fought back and resisted the attack. He lived to a ripe age of 87 years.