Historical Moment: Sarah Breedlove Walker (a.k.a. Madam C.J. Walker) Self-Made Millionaire.
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| Ms. Walker driving her automobile. |
Explanation
On December 23rd 1867 Sarah Breedlove Walker was born as the first free African American of her family. Her parents, Owen and Minerva were recently freed slaves that worked on a cotton plantation. Her parents along with other slaves in the United States were freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation passed in 1863.
She was a native to the state of Louisiana. At the age of 7 Ms. Walker became an orphan due to the passing of her parents. She moved with her older sister and brother in-law to the state of Mississippi where she engaged in domestic jobs cleaning homes and washing clothes for others. It was here that she married her first husband a Mr. Moses McWilliams. With Mr. McWilliams she had her daughter A' Lelia. Shortly thereafter Mr. McWilliams passed away.
With her daughter she moved to St. Louis where she moved in with her brothers and became a washerwoman making $1.50 a day. She also attended night school too. It was here that she met and then married her 2nd husband Mr. Charles J. Walker.
Hair loss for women during this era was regular, something that women suffered through as a result of poor hygiene. They lacked the modern amenities that we enjoy today like advance indoor plumbing and basic utilities that make hair care convenient and easy to do. As a result of many women during this time period lacking in hair care scalp disease was a regular occurrence.
Breedlove saw scalp disease as a mountain to climb, and climb she did. She began to experiment with all of the remedies that were available during that time period. Her husband Mr. Walker became her advertisement agent. She also changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker. Using her own devised formula she traveled the country promoting her new found product.
When her profits boomed she opened a beauty school in Pittsburgh and transferred her base of operations to Indianapolis as the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.
In 1913 she and Mr. Walker divorced. Breedlove traveled the Caribbean and Latin America promoting her company and recruiting others to advance her business and product. Her daughter, A'Lelia was put in charge of operations. With her daughter in charge of the company, Breedlove was freed to pursue societal concerns facing her fellow African Americans. She joined and then participated heavily in the NAACP, YMCA, NACW, and others helping to improve life for African Americans everywhere. She contributed time and money for anti-lynching campaigns. She helped out in many other areas as well.
At the age of 51, Ms. Breedlove died of hypertension at her estate of Irvington-on-Hudson.
Her legacy was one of hard work and drive. Her hard work impacted both hair care and social organizations. She earned herself the title of the first American Woman to become a "Self-Made Millionaire." Her business that she built and her daughter managed valued over 1 million dollars at the time of her death. She left a lasting legacy that many still look up to in the modern day.
Happy Birthday Sarah Breedlove Walker!!!
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