"There is no royal, flower-strewn road to success, and what success I have obtained is the result of many sleepless nights and real hard work.”
Those are the words of Madam C.J. Walker, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and all-around amazing woman who rose from crushing poverty in the post-Civil War south, building an impressive business em- pire and becoming the first female African American millionaire in the United States in 1917.
One of six children, she was born Sarah Breedlove on Dec. 23, 1867, in Delta, Louisiana, to sharecroppers and former slaves. Orphaned at age seven, she picked cotton as a little girl. One of her childhood friends described her as an “openfaced good gal.” She was married at 14 and widowed with a child by the age of 20. As a single mother she moved to St. Louis with her daughter where her four brothers were barbers. While there she labored as a cook and laundress.
In St. Louis she joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she met leading members of the community whose education and success inspired her. In 1894 she married John Davis, but the marriage did not work out, and the couple later divorced.
Struggling financially, and searching for a way to better her circumstances, her life took a dramatic turn in 1904. When a mysterious scalp ailment left her bald, she began using a product created by another African American woman, Annie Turbo Malone. Impressed with the effectiveness of the product, she wanted to learn more and became a sales agent for Mrs. Malone. After some work she decided to develop her own line of hair care products. With $1.25 she launched her business, centered on a restorative compound she dubbed “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.” After marrying a man named Charles Walker, she had adopted the name Madam C.J. Walker. She had now moved to Denver, Colorado.
She taught women how to care for and style their hair, first selling door- to-door, and then later expanding into mail order. Her signature product was a big hit and would completely change the hair care industry. Madam Walker sold her products directly to women, and her personal approach and genuine care won her thousands of loyal customers.
In 1910 she moved to Indianapolis, Indiana and built a factory for her Walker Manufacturing Company. This allowed her to expand production of her hair care products. She also established a beauty school and training center there for her sales agents.
Her company proved to be an amazing success. She employed at one time approximately 40,000 female sales agents in the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean. At the height of her success, annual sales topped $500,000, and her net worth was over $1 million. She had real estate holdings all over the country, including a mansion in Irvington, New York she dubbed “Villa Lewaro” and properties in Harlem, St. Louis, Chicago, and Pittsburg.
As her success grew, so did her generosity. As well as being an entrepreneur, Madam Walker was a philanthropist. She gave generously to many organizations including the YMCA, the NAACP, and the elite Tuskegee Institute.
She regularly hosted leading African American intellectuals and activists in her day. She advocated for the rights of African American soldiers who had fought in WWI and was part of a delegation that traveled to the White House to oppose lynching.
In 1917 she held the Walker Hair Culturists Union of America convention in Philadelphia. This event, drawing over 200 agents, was one of the first national gatherings of American women in business.
Before her death in 1919, Madam Walker revised her will, giving twothirds of her company’s future net profits to charity.
Madam C.J. Walker was truly an amazing American entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist, and leader. Her life and legacy are an example to us all. She deserves remembering.
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