There are 519 million, 870 thousand Black Women on the planet Earth, give or take a dozen. There's a Black Woman on each of the seven continents, in almost every country and in the space program. So no matter where you go, she's already been there. She travels with forces greater than herself. Her presence is everywhere. Black Women for Beginners chronicles the trials and triumphs of Black Women from antiquity to the present, reflecting with wit and humor the challenges they have faced and the fortitude and strength that have sustained Black Women and patterned history with a diversity of excellence. As warriors, healers, teachers, mothers, queens, and liberators Black Women have had tremendous impact on issues from food to fashion, from politics to poetry. Replete with a glossary of reference terms, Black Women for Beginners whimsically details the influence of stereotypes on the portrayal of Black Women in various venues and punctuates the absurd with contributions by Women such as suffragette Mary Church Terrell and astronaut Mae Jemison.

S. Pearl Sharp is a writer, filmmaker, actor and radio producer. Published work includes the non-fiction Black Women For Beginners (For Beginners LLC), Uncertain Rituals, an audio book of short fiction, the poetry w/jazz CDs On The Sharp Side and Higher Ground and four volumes of poetry including Typing In The Dark (Harlem River Press). She worked with esteemed actress Beah Richards to create There's A Brown Girl In The Ring, a collection of Richards' essays, later adapting them to stage. S. Pearl's essays and commentaries were broadcast on NPR. She performs her literary work collaborating with dancers, musicians and visual artists. (View clips on YouTube/A Sharp Show.)

An award-winning independent filmmaker, Sharp's documentary films include The Healing Passage/ Voices From The Water, which aired on The Documentary Channel, Life Is A Saxophone, on poet Kamau Daàood, and cultural arts documentaries for the City of Los Angeles CH 35. S. Pearl facilitates workshops connecting language and wellness & offers creativity coaching through The Gate Is Open.