>>23462617
You're right. I never knew:
>April O’Neil, a character who had no established heritage aside from her last name of Irish origin, and whose looks could change rather drastically between appearances, because apparently, her creators–Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird–had different ideas, and never definitively settled the question while they were working together.
https://doknowbutchie.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/a-visual-history-of-april-oneil-part-1-1984-1987/

>>150774732
She was NEVER black in the comic. Remember that the Jheri curls are just a new haircut for her, not her natural hair.

>>96724808
That's a cereal comic though.

Here is the first color depiction of April O'neil. At best, she's mulatto. The woman she's modeled on was mulatto. However, Eastman has always said she was intended to be white.