[6][5] Shuford has stated that the prejudice he experienced in his early education motivated him to pursue a legal career.

[3] After graduation, he served as a clerk for Henry Frye, the first black chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

[7] In 2013, he defended a transgender student at a Philadelphia suburban high school who was forced to use his birth name.

[15] Shuford has also been involved in advocacy against perceived police brutality, including the New Jersey Safe Stop program.

[17] In 2023, Shuford was named executive director of the North Carolina Justice Center, a Raleigh-based progressive policy and advocacy nonprofit.