― Lauryn Hill
I remember when I first heard the song “Everything is Everything.” I was a junior in college and one of my classmates had the new Lauryn Hill album playing on her car stereo as she drove me to my dorm. I remember that even after she had pulled into a parking spot and put the car in park, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of the car until the song was over. Its genius struck me as much then as it does today. There is tremendous truth in this simple statement. Everything is literally connected to everything else. Despite living in a day and age where we find ourselves more separated and polarized than ever, with folks digging their heels in deeper and deeper as they defend their various ideological stances, it’s more imperative than ever to remember that we are all connected. As we celebrate Black History Month, it is important to recognize that cultural pride should not occur in a vacuum; nor does it need to take place to the exclusion of inclusivity. This is true for celebrations of pride for all groups. We can celebrate our achievements in a way that both pays homage to the hard-fought accomplishments of our people, while concurrently acknowledging that we need and rely upon each other as fellow citizens of humanity, regardless of our ethnicity, creed, or background. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most prolific leaders of our time, who is widely celebrated during Black History Month, understood this truth all too well. Though often lauded for the work he did to advance the cause of equal rights for African Americans, Dr. King was a staunch advocate for equal access and justice for all people. He believed in the interconnectedness of humanity and that none of us are free until all of us are free.He once shared that he told his children, “I don’t ever want you to forget that there are millions of God’s children who will not and cannot get a good education, and I don’t want you feeling that you are better than they are. For you will never be what you ought to be until they are what they ought to be.” As Dr. King understood, what happens to the least of us, impacts all of us. We must remember the context of humanity in which we exist. We do not thrive in a vacuum. Everything truly is everything. All of our actions impact the actions and experiences of other people in an often a cyclical and unintentionally symbiotic manner. Everyone truly is connected to everyone else. The way we move, live, and breathe in the world impacts
our fellow humans, for better or for worse. We rely on each other. We need each other. And we should care about each other.
Lauryn Noelle Hill was born on May 26, 1975, to parents Valerie Hill, an English teacher, and Mal Hill, a computer and management consultant. She grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. From an early age, Hill was fascinated by music. At age 13, she appeared as a contestant on Showtime at the Apollo. With the support of her parents, she pursued singing and acting professionally in her early teens, appearing on local television and auditioning for film roles in nearby New York City.
In high school, she formed the hip hop group The Fugees with Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean. While serving as a songwriter, lead vocalist and rapper for the group, Hill continued to pursue her acting career. At age 17, she played a recurring role on the daytime television drama As the World Turns. The following year, she appeared in a prominent singing role in the feature film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Hill excelled academically and earned admission to Columbia University. In her freshman year after The Fugees signed a record contract, Hill left Columbia to concentrate on her performing career.
The Fugees released their first album in 1994, and their second, The Score, in 1996, which was an immediate sensation upon release, shooting to the top of the Billboard 200 and the R&B charts. The album included three hit singles; the biggest was Lauryn Hill’s version of “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” a ballad made famous in the 1970s by singer Roberta Flack. The song went to Number 2 on the U.S. Singles chart (Number 1 in Britain), and brought the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance of the Year. In its first year of release, The Score sold six million copies.
In 1998, Hill produced and released her solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album charts for six weeks, ultimately selling 19 million copies. Of the five singles released from the album, “Doo Wop (That Thing)” debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard charts. At the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill broke a number of records, becoming the first woman to be nominated in ten categories in a single year, and the first woman to win five trophies in one night: Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best New Artist.
By the end of 1999, two years into her solo career, her record sales and touring had earned her an estimated $25 million. In addition to her own performing schedule, she served as co-producer of Carlos Santana’s Supernatural, and won a second Grammy Award for Album of the Year. She is the only female artist to win the Album of the Year award in two consecutive years.
At the height of her success, Lauryn Hill surprised the music world with her decision to withdraw from performing and seclude herself with her growing family.
Outside of her performance career, Hill is a dedicated activist. She founded an organization dedicated to serving underprivileged urban youth called the Refugee Camp Youth Project. The organization raises money to send children from Hill's native New Jersey to summer camp.
In 2012, Hill faced personal and professional tumult which resulted in criminal charges being filed against her. These past challenges notwithstanding, Hill has displayed tremendous grace and resilience. She is often regarded as one of the most influential musicians of her generation. In 2021, she was among the inaugural nominees for the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
This text is excerpted from: https://achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/, https://www.hiphopscriptures.com/lauryn-hill, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lauryn-Hill and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauryn_Hill.
― India.Arie
In the words of the prolific India.Arie,
“There’s hope
It doesn't cost a thing to smile
You don't have to pay to laugh
You better thank God for that.
Stand up for your rights
Keep shining your light
And show the world your smile.”
At the beginning of each new year, humans have taken to setting resolutions and new goals that they wish to accomplish in the coming 364 days. As the year wears on, however, we often find that we have not accomplished all that we set out to achieve, at least not at the rate we expected. I think that over the last two years, it’s been more and more challenging to hold on to the optimism that each new year brings. For many of us, life feels harder; things seem more complicated now than ever.
It is true that with each passing year, living becomes more layered, more complex, and more nuanced. But no matter what issues we face, we always have a choice. We can choose hope. We can choose to look forward to the next day with optimism, gratitude and faith. I choose hope every day, even on the days when it feels easier not to.
I remember many people in my lineage who faced horrific circumstances, and could’ve given up or opted out of trying, but they didn’t. I am grateful that they did not because had they done so, I would not be here.
I choose hope because I think of women like our World Changer of the Month, Elizabeth Taylor, and how easy it would’ve been for her to give up after her husband, small child, mother and sister-in-law died. But she did not. She believed in the possibility of a brighter tomorrow. She chose hope.
So as we begin the year 2023, let’s remember that there is always hope. Let’s commit to choosing it every day.
