She was raised in Muleshoe, Texas and Amarillo, Texas. In 1966, she graduated from Carver High School. After earning an A.A. from Amarillo College she received a B.S. from the School of Nursing at the University of Texas as well as an M.S. of Nursing from the University of Washington. After working as a nurse for over 10 years she obtained her J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She is a single mother of two adult sons, Tshaka Randall (a law professor) and Issa Randall (a fine arts photographer). She raised them while receiving welfare, attending school and developing a nursing and legal career. Randall has written an article about single-parenting.