Madam C.J.Walker The first self made female American Millionaire

[EmeraldCityGrl]

While Madam Walker was African American, she was the first self made female American Millionaire
black, white, red or purple. She was also a philanthropist and and worked diligently to educate and
mentor other women to achieve success. Very cool lady.


Like many women of her era, Sarah experienced hair loss. Because most Americans lacked indoor plumbing, central heating and electricity, they bathed and washed their hair infrequently. The result was scalp disease. Sarah experimented with home remedies and products already on the market until she finally developed her own shampoo and an ointment that contained sulfur to make her scalp healthier for hair growth.
Soon Sarah, now known as Madam C. J. Walker, was selling her products throughout the United States. While her daughter Lelia (later known as A'Lelia Walker) ran a mail order business from Denver, Madam Walker and her husband traveled throughout the southern and eastern states. They settled in Pittsburgh in 1908 and opened Lelia College to train "hair culturists." In 1910 Walker moved to Indianapolis, Indiana where she established her headquarters and built a factory.
She began to teach and train other black women in order to help them build their own businesses. She also gave other lectures on political, economic and social issues at conventions sponsored by powerful black institutions. After the East St. Louis Race Riot, she joined leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in their efforts to support legislation to make lynching a federal crime. In 1918 at the biennial convention of the National Association Of Colored Woman (NACW) she was acknowledged for making the largest contribution to save the Anacostia (Washington, DC) house of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. She continued to donate money throughout her career to the NAACP, the YMCA, and to black schools, organizations, individuals, orphanages, and retirement homes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker

[seabeyond]

1. excellent...

very good stuff. thanks.

[sadbear]

2. While I applaude Ms. Walker's accomplishments,

I take issue with the term 'self-made'. Certainly some are more self-made than others, no one is exclusively self-made. I think this feeds into republican ideology. We must celebrate that Americans work hard to bring each other prosperity and that no one can do it by themselves.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

3. I think in that era

when women were hindered by laws that required their husbands and fathers
to control their assets the term is appropriate. Although i would have to do more research,
I'm certain she faced incredible challenges dealing with banks and other financial
institutions that were unwilling to work with women.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. Yup. Read it here a thousand times: NO ONE makes their millions except on the backs of others...

No such thing as "self-made", especially when it comes to millionaires.

[bigtree]

6. indeed

While extraordinary and reflective of her greatness, generosity, the farsightedness of her inclusive and progressive business model, Mrs. Walker did begin her career under the tutelage of another great African-American woman; Annie Turbo-Malone who founded and operated a beauty school called 'Poro College.' There Mrs. Walker learned the techniques which helped her develop her own hair care process; independent from Mrs. Turnbo's.


from my article, Remnants, Remembrances, and Legacies of Black History:

Mostly unrecognized for years, or dismissed or ignored, is the fact of the more famous and more celebrated "Madame Walker's" advantageous beginnings as an actual student at Annie Turnbo Malone's 'Poro' beauty school.

Sarah Breedlove, also know as, 'Madam C. J. Walker,' became one of Ms. Malone's sales agents during 1903. Two years later, however, Ms. Breedlove had developed her own brand of hair care products and moved her new operation, successfully, to Denver. She expanded that operation into hundreds of salons around the country and made a famous fortune selling her hair care solutions to black women.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1187585

[EmeraldCityGrl]

7. Anxious to read your article

have to track down my password to access webpage.

I'm just fascinated with Madam Walker. Need to track down
a book on her life, or someone needs to write one.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

8. Yes, Amazon has several...

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Madam+C.J.+Walker

"On Her Own Ground" by A'Lelia Bundles

On Her Own Ground is the first full-scale, definitive biography of Madam C. J. Walker -- the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist -- by her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.
The daughter of slaves, Madam C. J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then -- with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women -- everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism. Along the way, she formed friendships with great early-twentieth-century politi-cal figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.

On Her Own Ground is not only the first comprehensive biography of one of recent history's most amazing entrepreneurs and philanthropists, it is about a woman who is truly an African American icon. Drawn from more than two decades of exhaustive research, the book is enriched by the author's exclusive access to personal letters, records and never-before-seen photographs from the family collection. Bundles also showcases Walker's complex relationship with her daughter, A'Lelia Walker, a celebrated hostess of the Harlem Renaissance and renowned friend to both Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. In chapters such as "Freedom Baby," "Motherless Child," "Bold Moves" and "Black Metropolis," Bundles traces her ancestor's improbable rise to the top of an international hair care empire that would be run by four generations of Walker women until its sale in 1985. Along the way, On Her Own Ground reveals surprising insights, tells fascinating stories and dispels many misconceptions.

Show Less

[bigtree]

9. I figured out what that password popup was

It was for a photo i had on the article. I got rid of it and the password popup is gone

[Smilo]

5. Madam CJ Walker was honored by the USPOS

in 1998 being put on a stamp as part of its Black Heritage Series. That is when I found out abut this wonderful, inspiring and legendary woman.