Madam C.J. Walker

An Entrepreneur

Who was Madam C.J. Walker?

Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records. She was also the first child in her family born into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

In 1889 Walker moved to St. Louis Missouri, where her four brothers were barbers. She worked as a laundress and cook, and eventually joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

As stated by Wikipedia, during the 1800’s Walker and most African American women suffered with severe dandruff and other scalp conditions, including baldness. Many African American families lived without indoor plumbing, so regular shampooing was impossible. Poor nutrition and problems like lice also made it difficult to maintain healthy hair. Some women wore head wraps to hide their bald patches, while Walker searched for a cure.

Around 1904, she became a commission agent and sold products for, Annie Malone: an African American hair care entrepreneur, millionaire, and owner of the Poro Company. While working for Malone, she developed a new product line. By July 1905, she moved to Denver, Colorado, where she continued to sell products for Malone, and develop her own hair care business: Madame C.J. Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower. Eventually, a rivalry arose between the two, because Malone accused Walker of stealing her formula: a mixture of Petroleum Jelly and Sulfur.

Walker went on to market herself as an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetic creams. She sold her products door to door, teaching black women how to groom and style their hair. In 1906, she left her daughter in charge of the mail order operation in Denver, while she and her husband traveled throughout the Southern and Eastern United Stated to expand the business. In 1908, they relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they operated training programs in the “Walker System” for her national network of licensed sales agents. Two years later she relocated her business to Indianapolis, where she established the headquarters for the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She originally purchased a house and factory at 640 North West Street, however, according to Wikipedia, she went on to build a factory, hair salon, added a laboratory to help with research, and beauty school to train her sales agents. Many of her company’s employees, including those in key management and staff positions were women. By 1917, the company claimed to have trained nearly 20,000 women. Walker also showed other African American women how to budget, build their own businesses, and encouraged them to become financially independent.

Before her death, Walker pledged $5,000 *equivalent to $78,932 in 2021*. At the time it was the largest gift from an individual that the NAACP had ever received.

Aon May 25th, 1919, at the age of 51, Madame C.J. Walker passed away due to kidney failure and complications of hypertension.

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Books

*Kids*

• All about Madam C.J. Walker | A’lelia Bundles

• Madam C.J. Walker and New Cosmetics | Katherine E Krohn

• Madam C.J. Walker: Inventor and Businesswoman | Lisa M. Bolt Simons

• Madam C.J. Walker | A’lelia Bundles

*Adults*

• Madam C.J. Walker Builds a Business | Rebel Girls

• On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker | A’lelia Bundles

• Self-Made | A’lelia Bundles

• The Black Rose: The Dramatic Story of Madam C.J. Walker, America’s First Black Female Millionaire | Tananarive Due

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Movie(s) | Film(s) | Documentaries'

• Self Made | 2020

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Source(s)

1. "Madam C.J. Walker." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker