S. Pearl Sharp was born on December 21, 1942, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Faythe McIntyre and Clarence Sharp, who were active in the local NAACP.

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She was an "artivist," creating cultural art for the eye, ear, and heart through film, writing, performance, theatre, and music. Ms. Pearl has been a foundational presence in the Los Angeles film, video, and literary community over the past 45 years.

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She focused on cultural arts, Black Diaspora history, and wellness, working in radio, theater, music, literature, and film—on both sides of the camera. Her semi-animated short Picking Tribes (1988) is archived in the Women Make Movies collection of the Motion Picture Academy (AMPAS).

Documentaries include The Healing Passage: Voices from the Water (2004), which aired on The Documentary Channel; Life Is a Saxophone (1985), on poet-griot Kamau Daaood; the controversial women’s health video It’s O.K. To Peek, produced by Arabella Chavers-Julien; and a dozen cultural arts documentaries with Rosie Lee Hooks for the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and Channel 35.

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She recorded poetry on film in her shorts Back Inside Herself (1984), Channeled (2009), and Blood Bank (2022). Print publications include Black Women for Beginners and The Evening News, and her collected commentaries and essays were broadcast on NPR and the Pacifica Radio Network. S. Pearl was a founding member of the Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers (BADWEST), and one of her joys was mentoring new cultural artists in all disciplines of the arts.

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She physically left this earth on Saturday, October 11, but she will live forever in our spirits and in our hearts.

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As she did not want a service, we will have a libation ceremony here at the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus on Sunday, October 19, at 1:00 PM.