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When L. Boogie released her classic album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998, her future seemed bright and full of promise.  The album sold more than 19 million copies worldwide, and brought Lauryn Hill international success and fame.  At the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill broke records by becoming both the first woman ever to be nominated in ten categories in a single year, and the first woman to win five times in one night.  Surely, the Queen of the Hill was here to stay.

So when Hill was arrested, charged and pled guilty, in June, 2012, to three counts of failure to file tax returns for income earned in 2005, 2006 and 2007, many were surprised.  What happened? Not only was Hill known for her success as an entertainer, but she was also known for her humanitarian projects such as funding an outreach organization for at-risk youth and staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration.

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Elizabeth Edwards

Although John Edwards’ alleged proposal to Rielle Hunter made headlines today, it is not the focus of this post.  This post will focus on the Edwards story which made headlines yesterday – Elizabeth’s Last Will and Testament which did not mention John.

It was reported yesterday that Elizabeth Edwards left nothing in her Will to John.  This was not an oversight or act of vindictiveness on Elizabeth’s part, but an astute act by a clever, shrewd and protective woman (Elizabeth) who was also an attorney.

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Lion attack

The video of the worker in a glass-enclosed Habitat being attacked by a lion at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on Sept. 1, 2010, is disturbing.  It leads to one question, why?

Why would an employer hire men to stand in a cage with 2 lions?  Why would anyone take this job? In February, 2010, a killer whale at SeaWorld attacked and killed a trainer in front of a horrified audience. Witnesses say the whale, which was involved in two previous deaths, dragged the trainer under and thrashed her around violently.

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A younger Sherrod

When we first saw the heavily edited Shirley Sherrod video on FOX News, most of us experienced several emotions.  First there was shock which caused many of us to rush to judgment, just as Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and the Obama administration did.

Then as the story began to unfold and change right before our eyes, we began to realize that this was not just the story of a woman victimized by right-wing conservatives, but it was the introduction on the world stage of a woman who was so severely impacted by discrimination in all forms (race, status, etc.) that she decided to devote the rest of her life to its eradication.  The video introduced us to a woman who has been fighting for a cause for her entire life; a woman whose calling became bigger than the woman herself.

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