By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

The indomitable Jenifer Lewis –one for whom the word diva is made -- has been a formidable force in the world of drama and song for almost 30 years.

Lewis currently tears up the stage of the Broadway production of 'Hairspray' as Motormouth Maybelle, mother of Seaweed J. Stubbs, played by singer Tevin Campbell. Her ovation at the end is always one of the longest.

Here, Lewis opens up about a very real, very pervasive issue in our country: bi polar disorder (formerly manic depression.) Lewis, who created a one woman show about the illness – "Bipolar, Bath and Beyond" -- shares with us her Testimony.

Can you explain what bi-polar is?

Bi-polar is a mood disorder, where people will experience extreme highs and extreme lows including anger all the time, irritability and reckless behavior. It's very serious to control that manic behavior. People who need drama in their lives all the time, you know complaining and coming in a room loud, and inappropriate.

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

Terrie Williams is the high powered publicist and rainmaker who has represented everyone from Eddie Murphy and Miles Davis to Johnnie Cochran and Janet Jackson.

In Williams' line of business, it's all about relationships; in her new book, 'Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting,' (Scribner), she not only outlines her battle with depression but coralles regular folks and celebrities alike to talk how mental illness has affected their lives.

Black folk, especially, says Williams, have a specific historical context which makes our relationship with mental illness unique:

"Can you imagine how heavy the weight of all that trauma must have been in the hearts, minds, and souls of our ancestors? She asks. "They had no outlet in which to express it and no proper means of processing it. Instead of airing our dirty laundry and getting help for our issues we engage in behaviors that are harmful to ourselves or others such as crime, violence, promiscuous sex, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, workaholism, shopaholism, gambling, in order to cope, and it's killing us," says Williams.

As told to Denver Louis, BlackVoices.com

With thirteen albums under his belt, Brooklyn native Will Downing has been one of the most consistent names in R&B, with a career than spans back to the '80s. Over the decades, the soulful jazz crooner has maintained a strong and steady fan base and after being just on the cusp of mainstream success, the Grammy-nominated singer finally scored a #1 debut with his latest album, 'After Tonight.'

Downing's success comes despite being diagnosed with the debilitating condition Polymyositis in 2006. Polymyositis, which is an inflammation of the muscle fibers, weakened him to the point where he was confined to a wheelchair and could no longer complete many everyday tasks. Yet, despite this major setback, Downing has made considerable progress and is determined to continue making music and beating the odds by performing in 2008.

By Angela Bronner, Blackvoices.com

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson is one of the most riveting characters on television today, a straight up killer on the HBO series, 'The Wire,' a fierce and unflinching story of urban America from the perspective of all of its denizens.

Snoop began her life as a cross-eyed, three pound crack baby who grew up in foster care and spent eight years of her adolescence in jail for killing a woman.

At 27, Snoop recently released her memoir, 'Grace After Midnight' (written with noted biographer David Ritz) which chronicles her tumultuous life on the hard edged streets of Baltimore and her seemingly divine path to where she stands today.

By Coletta Renee, founder Tia's Foundation

Like many others, my journey to understanding the AIDS epidemic has not been an easy one. Although I participated in AIDS Walks for as far back as I can remember, I never really understood the real reason why so many were making quilts, sharing their personal stories and raising money until AIDS appeared on my own doorstep.

In 1993, my aunt, who also happened to be my best friend, called me to tell me that she was infected. Speechless, I hung up without even realizing it. When I called her back, I could tell that she had been crying and hadn't had much sleep.

So many questions entered my mind..."How long had she been infected?" "Who infected her? " "Was her fiancé at risk?" I had so many questions but my heart ached too much to ask. The only question I could muster up to ask was "How did you get it?" Her response was even more shocking than the news itself. She told me that her fiancée had infected her.

In a matter of moments, my whole world had turned upside down.

By Angela Bronner, AOL Black Voices

Being the daughter of Frank Lucas had its privileges -- Francine Lucas Sinclair knows of $50,000 Fendi coats and a smorgasbord of expensive toys. She also remembers a daddy who used to make her breakfast and who would save his baby girl from getting her hair combed.

Francine Lucas Sinclair also knows of a childhood filled with shame and untruths.

The man she knew as daddy was to the rest of the world Frank Lucas, notorious drug kingpin who flooded the streets of Harlem with heroin, recently immortalized by Denzel Washington in the film, 'American Gangster.'

For his exploits in the drug game, Frank was incarcerated when Francine was 3 years old, and her mother, Julie Lucas, also was jailed, forcing the toddler to live with her mother's parents in Puerto Rico .

After years of silence, Francine Lucas Sinclair finally spoke about her parents this year; hers of course is not a typical story in the sense of $50,000 coats but quite typical in that one in every eight African American children has a parent in jail.

As told to Angela Bronner, AOL Black Voices

Veteran New York television newscaster Dominic Carter has been on the local station NY1 for more than 25 years. As host of the nightly show 'Inside City Hall,' he has grilled local politicians, many of whom have national stature, including New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, current Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Rev. Al Sharpton. He has also covered national and international leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and former South African President Nelson Mandela. His book 'No Momma's Boy' takes on two volatile topics at once -- how he survived physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his mother and how her mental illness shaped his life.

In terms of every strike that society could throw against you, I had it -- black male, no father, poor, in the projects. I go on to make it, and do exceptionally well against the odds and make it in television, to the top of an all-white arena -- political reporting.

But at the same time, my secret was at 7 years old, my mom sexually abused me. Prior to this, my mom wasn't around for months at a time, sometimes years at a time. My grandmother raised me. I had family members who really did not want me to write ['No Momma's Boy']. They just wanted Dominic Carter, the positive newscaster who made it.