From the life of a street vendor who sends kids to medical and law schools selling ears of corn to what wakes the Rev. Al Sharpton up in the morning and what keeps him up at night, msnbc captured moving details of interesting lives in original videos filmed around the country.
Here are some of the top original videos of the year:
Left for dead, rebounding from fatal LGBT attack
Two years ago Mollie Olgin and Kristene Chapa went on a date in their south Texas hometown when an attacker shot them execution style. Suffering from paralysis and PTSD, Chapa tries to rebuild her life as the alleged gunman’s trial approaches and a community debates whether the shootings were a hate crime.
Breaking Glass: Meet Lucy Flores
Lucy Flores, a Latina rising star in Nevada politics, isn't running from her troubled past -- she's running on it.
Bullied, gay teen's 'dying wish' denied after suicide
After AJ Bett's suicide from bullying some of his organs were rejected because he was gay, according to his mom Sheryl Moore.
Meet Toby Harmon, a self-proclaimed "abolitionist," whose crusade is unrelated to slavery. He has devoted his and his family's life to bringing "light and Jesus into conflict with evil."
Purpose: The Real Rev. Al Sharpton
What wakes Al Sharpton up in the morning and what keeps him up at night? In an exclusive msnbc original documentary, we go behind the scenes into Rev. Al Sharpton’s life-- and hear him reflect on his work.
Is this the most radical preacher in America?
West Point graduate, master of divinity and trans mother of four, Allyson Robinson thinks it's her congregation--and not herself--that has the revolutionary message.
Street vendor sends kids to med, law schools selling ears of corn
Tony immigrated alone to Chicago in 1997 to better his family, building a home and sending his kids to university back in Mexico while living frugally. He hasn't seen his family in person for five years--until now.
Equality: First openly gay Eagle Scout's future unclear
With a policy that bans gay adults, Pascal Tessier's future with the Boy Scouts is anything but certain as he turns 18.
A murdered abortion provider's clinic carries on in Wichita
The South Wind Women’s Center celebrates the one year anniversary of the reopening Dr. George Tiller's abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas.
Global Citizen: 'In my poverty, it helped me feel like I'm rich'
Rwandan education volunteer Anne-Marie Mukaruzima works with students to encourage them to stay in school. Efforts like this have been responsible for improving drop-out rates.
Devoted but “mad,” two black Mormons challenge church culture
"Diary of Two Mad Black Mormons" authors and "Sistas in Zion" Tamu Smith and Zandra Vranes want to raise the profile of African-Americans within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which banned blacks from its priesthood for over a hundred, all the while living their Mormon faith with “a little more sass.”
Down to the wire for Pocatello's non-discrimination ordinance
Susan Matsuura has spent two years passing and trying to keep a non-discrimination law for LGBT people in Pocatello, Idaho.