MaDam C. J. Walker
(1865-1919)
All About Hair
The First Black Millionaire was a woman.
A Hair Care HairDresser,
The History of an Afro-American Hair Stylist.
Sara Breedlove McWilliams Davis Walker was born in Delta, Louisiana, on December 23, 1865, to former Slaves Owen and Minerva Breedlove. Born on a cotton plantation, she was the youngest of three children and the first member of her family born Free.
When her Parents died of yellow fever in 1874, older brother Alex moved the family to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Working as a laundress, Ma dam C.J. met Moses McWilliams, a day laborer, in Vicksburg. The couple married in 1882, and their daughter, Lelia, was born on June 6, 1885. Following her husband's death in 1887 the soon to become hairdresser moved to St.Louis. Shee married John Davis in 1888, but soon filed for divorce because of his drinking.
Determined to make a better life for herself`and her daughter, Ma dam C.J. Walker launched a self-improvement campaign. Membership at St.Louis's African American community, was the logical choice for combing worship with the development of a Social Network. Moreover, she became an active participant in the local chapter of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW).
While searching for appropriate business venture, Ma dam Walker claimed she had a dream about and old man who gave her a formula for moisturizing and promoting hair growth. Many African American women including Mrs. Walker, suffered from brittle, thinning hair. Her mixture improved the quanity and quality of her own hair, and had significant restorative effects on her friends's hair.
She began selling her product door-to-door.
Walker realized that she would face stiff competition in St.Louis for Annie Malone's Poro hair care products. Malone began marketing the Poro line in 1902 and already had name recognition for her formula. On advice from her good friend C. J. Walker, a local newsman, Walker moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1905. C. J. became her husband on January 4, 1906.
Walker, now using the name Madam C. J. Walker, moved her business headquarters to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1908.
Her daughter, a college graduate, joined the family busness.
Madam C. J. Walker established a chain of beauty parlors, factories, and laboratories throught the country, the Caribbean and South America...
By 1910 her company employed five thousand black women, and Madam C. J. Walker became the first African American Woman millionaire.
Although she was enjoying a luxurious lifestyle, Walker was equally known for her philanthropy. She gave generously to educational and welfare institutions, especially thouse that benefited black women.
She agreed to chair a fund-raising campaign for NACW at the request of future president Mary McLeod Bethune in 1909. In 1916 the NACW voted to redeem the mortage on the home of the late Frederick Douglass. To ensure its preservation, the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association was incorporated. NACW president Mary Talbert awarded the honor of burning the mortage papers to the woman donating the final five hundred dollars-- Madam C.J. Walker.
This hairstylist's generosity continued until her death on May 25, 1919.
Her Will stipulated that her heirs divide two-thirds of her estate amoung various charities and that her company be controlled by a Woman....
Source: Suzanna M. Long
research:
Black Women In America,
An Historical Encyclopedia. Madame C. J. Walker
Bundles, A' Leila Perry., Madam C . J. Walker
When and Where I Enter,
William Morrow, 1984
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In honor of the Beautician Madame C.J.--
HairStylist.Com declares the date May 25, as "Hair Stylist Day".... in memory the best Hair Care Beauty Business Professional of all times.
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