This book makes an analogy of a black sapphire gemstone with stereotypical treatment of Americans against African American Women, the effects of an army of American women being ignored, devalued and hidden in plain sight! An ordinary, naturally formed rock begins deep inside the caverns of the earth. Unnoticed, uncut, and unpolished, it has no brilliance and no luster. When outside pressure is placed upon, underneath and around it, it rises to bring out and up to the surface something unique, authentic, beautiful, and valuable. These are natural treasures, hidden in plain sight-a resource, at a glance, just under the surface. A missed treasure hidden deep in the earth, just waiting to be discovered. So to the people, and in the case of this memoir, a Black woman who represent millions of Black women can be hidden, prejudged, ignored, marginalized, cajoled, and abused because of society's decision to see them as a caricature, a joke, a buffoon, a nag, and in a negative connotation a "black sapphire." This story is of a Black woman coming of age in the United States of America over several decades. She stumbles into her discovery that she is viewed through a different lens than her white counterparts. She is judged, contrary to the adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover. She is judged by the cover of her book-the color of her skin and not by the content of her skills, talent or character. Likewise, the adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," words can be abusive and inflict lifelong hurt, like ghost in your memory and minds, hanging around to haunt and hurt you again. Treated as a "third-class" citizen or as no citizen at all by fellow Americans is the story of millions who happen to be Black and female. Seen, yet not seen except as surface, superficial, and annoying outsiders, locked out of the mainstream of society, intentionally excluded so that their voices, dreams, needs, potential and desires are ignored, unrealized and unfulfilled. The effect is a national pool of talent, skills and human resources wasted. This book is a tribute to African American women as a natural valuable treasure, unrecognized, unvalued, hidden in plain sight. 80

Ghost is the story of Buddy Noble and his sister, Tara Noble, who lost their parents in a terrorist attack. They are soon torn apart and, in finding themselves, realize that they have mutant genes and developed superpowers. The Black Sapphire Corporation will stop at nothing to control all the mutants while the Trillion Company will do whatever it takes to give mutants their freedom.

This book critically analyzes the portrayals of Black women in current reality television. Audiences are presented with a multitude of images of Black women fighting, arguing, and cursing at one another in this manufactured world of reality television. This perpetuation of negative, insidious racial and gender stereotypes influences how the U.S. views Black women. This stereotyping disrupts the process in which people are able to appreciate cultural and gender difference. Instead of celebrating the diverse symbols and meaning making that accompanies Black women's discourse and identities, reality television scripts an artificial or plastic image of Black women that reinforces extant stereotypes. This collection's contributors seek to uncover examples in reality television shows where instantiations of Black women's gendered, racial, and cultural difference is signified and made sinister.

From the dawn of time, ruby and sapphire have both attracted and fascinated humans in ways that few other items could.While objects of desire are found throughout the natural world, physical beauty is too often ephemeral. From the allure of a man, woman, flower or butterfly, through the fleeting moments of a sunset, there is little that lasts and practically nothing that can be passed down to our descendants. The exception is precious stones. Not only are they the most durable creations of mother nature, but their visual splendor is truly eternal.In this companion to his 2013 book, Ruby & Sapphire--A Collector's Guide, Richard Hughes examines these gems from the gemological standpoint, delving into these gems not just from the aesthetic, but also from the scientific point of view.The product of nearly 40 years of firsthand experience, it covers every aspect of the subject from A-Z. History, sources, prices, quality analysis, synthetics and treatments, everything is here. Ruby & Sapphire--A Gemologist's Guide represents the most comprehensive book ever written on a single precious stone. With over 1000 photos, maps and illustrations and 3500 references, it is nothing less than a tour-de-force of gemological scholarship.

Sapphire's Castle is a fun exciting children's book. Sapphire and her best friend Archer use their imaginations to defeat a two headed dragon.

"Engaging a wide range of experiences and artistic practices, the nine artists featured in this exhibition challenge the controlling images of Black women that continue to pervade our culture and influence perceptions. Their artworks jar loose expectations and replace simplistic narratives with nuanced, sophisticated meditations on contemporary identity. The essays in this publication similarly present a variety of perspectives on the artworks and the ideas they present. Contributions from a diverse group of accomplished scholars, activists, artists, and writers provide multiple viewpoints from which to consider the exhibition and the questions it presents. Together, the artists' works and the author's voices reveal the complexity of identity, the necessity for self-determination, and the power of art to stimulate dialogue." -- Publisher's description

DIVFrom a highly respected thinker on race, gender, and American politics, a new consideration of black women and how distorted stereotypes affect their political beliefs/div

A courageous and determined young teacher opens up a new world of hope and redemption for sixteen-year-old Precious Jones, an abused young African American girl living in Harlem who was raped and left pregnant by her father.

Fifteen years after the publication of Push, one year after the Academy Award-winning film adaptation, Sapphire gives voice to Precious's son, Abdul. In The Kid bestselling author Sapphire tells the electrifying story of Abdul Jones, the son of Push's unforgettable heroine, Precious. A story of body and spirit, rooted in the hungers of flesh and of the soul, The Kid brings us deep into the interior life of Abdul Jones. We meet him at age nine, on the day of his mother's funeral. Left alone to navigate a world in which love and hate sometimes hideously masquerade, forced to confront unspeakable violence, his history, and the dark corners of his own heart, Abdul claws his way toward adulthood and toward an identity he can stand behind. In a generational story that moves with the speed of thought from a Mississippi dirt farm to Harlem in its heyday; from a troubled Catholic orphanage to downtown artist's lofts, The Kid tells of a twenty- first-century young man's fight to find a way toward the future. A testament to the ferocity of the human spirit and the deep nourishing power of love and of art, The Kid chronicles a young man about to take flight. In the intimate, terrifying, and deeply alive story of Abdul's journey, we are witness to an artist's birth by fire.

The debut of a major new talent, SAPPHIRE'S GRAVE tells the stories of several generations of African-American women, bringing their spirit and their sorrow to life with a power, sensitivity, and immediacy. In 1749 in Sierra Leone, a woman of fierce dignity is captured and forced onto a slave ship. On the harrowing voyage to the Americas, she is beaten for her unrelenting will and staunch pride. When she arrives, she gives birth to a daughter who is called Sapphire because of the "black-blue-black" complexion she shares with her mother. Sapphire has also inherited her mother's strength and defiant spirit, and despite a life of poverty and opression, she grows up to mother several daughters of her own. Even when tragedy strikes and part of Sapphire dies, her strength gives rise to a legend that will sustain the women who follow her, "each carrying something of her mother, her grandmother, her aunts; each passing on to her own daughters blessing and cursing, the consequences of her own choosing. Through the lives of Sapphire and her descendants, Hilda Gurley-Highgate not only creates a poignant and engrossing saga of black women in America, she brilliantly illuminates the meaning of roots and the links between women and their female ancestors, a tie that often appears tenuous, undefined, and distant, but is strong, palpable, and much closer than we imagine. Written in luminous prose, SAPPHIRE'S GRAVE is an astonishing work by an author poised to take the literary world by storm.