Madam C J Walker

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Madam C. J. Walker

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Madam C. J. Walker 1867-1919, African-American entrepeneur, b. Delta, La., as Sarah Breedlove. Thought to be America's first black female millionaire, this daughter of ex-slaves was orphaned at 7, working at 10, married at 14, and a widow with an infant daughter at 20. She worked as a domestic and laundress and later sold hair-care products. In her scant spare time she experimented and developed (1905) an ointment and system to stop hair loss in African-American women and create smooth, shiny coiffures. In 1906 she moved to Denver, married newspaperman Charles J. Walker, and adopted Madam C. J. Walker as her business name. She expanded her product line, notably with a "pressing comb," and the two began selling her wares door-to-door. They proved so successful that she was able to hire saleswomen and to open stores and a beauty college. She moved (1910) her factory to Indianapolis and herself (1913) to Harlem, where she separated from her husband. Within a few years she had created a cosmetics empire and earned a fortune. An honored figure in business and philanthropy, she endowed educational institutions and supported many organizations to aid the African-American community. Her daughter, A'delia Walker, 1885-1931, b. Vicksburg, Miss., as Lelia McWilliams, was a well-known cultural figure in the 1920s, maintaining a salon attended by many members of the Harlem Renaissance .

Bibliography: See T. Due, The Black Rose (2000); A. Bundles, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker (2001); B. Lowry, Her Dream of Dreams: The Rise and Triumph of Madam C. J. Walker (2003)

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Walker, Madame C.J

The Oxford Companion to United States History | 2001 | | © The Oxford Companion to United States History 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Walker, Madame C.J. (1867–1919), African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist.Born on a Louisiana cotton plantation shortly after the end of slavery, Sarah Breedlove was orphaned at the age of seven. At ten she became a domestic worker, and at fourteen, living in Vicksburg, Mississippi, she married Moses McWilliams. He died in 1887, leaving her with a two‐year‐old daughter, Lelia (latter known as A'Lelia). Moving to St. Louis, she eked out a living as a washerwoman. Using available products, she also developed hair‐care treatments for black women, including remedies for baldness and other scalp conditions brought on by poor diet, stress, and damaging hair treatments.

Recognizing a lucrative market, she developed her own line of products for a growing clientele. She moved to Denver in 1905 and in 1906 married Charles Joseph Walker, a journalist who became her business partner and promoter. They marketed their products and the “Walker System” through door‐to‐door sales and promotional tours. In 1910 the Walkers moved the business and manufacturing enterprise to Indianapolis, Indiana, where they employed a large workforce, including women who demonstrated her products in homes. After Walker and her husband divorced, she and her daughter ran the business.

In 1914 she moved to New York City where, now a wealthy woman, she became a philanthropist and outspoken political activist. A successful entrepreneur and advocate of black women's economic independence, she often declared: “I got myself a start by giving myself a start.” She bequeathed substantial sums to black schools, organizations, and institutions. Her daughter conducted a salon that became a gathering place for the writers, artists, and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance.
See also African Americans.

Bibliography

Walter Fisher , Walker, Sarah Breedlove, in Edward T. James et al., eds., Notable American Women, 1607–1950, III, pp. 533–535, 1971.
A'Lelia P. Bundles , Madam C.J. Walker—Cosmetics Tycoon Ms. (July 1983).
A'Lelia P. Bundles , Madam C.J. Walker—Entrepreneur, 1991.

Tiffany Ruby Patterson

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Paul S. Boyer. "Walker, Madame C.J." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 25 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Paul S. Boyer. "Walker, Madame C.J." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (November 25, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-WalkerMadameCJ.html

Paul S. Boyer. "Walker, Madame C.J." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Retrieved November 25, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-WalkerMadameCJ.html

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Renovation completed on home of Madam C.J. Walker, America's first black woman millionaire.
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MOTIONS Honors the Legacy of Madam C. J. Walker and the Life of Heir A'Lelia Bundles for Women's History Month.
PR Newswire; 3/28/2007; 700+ words ; ...force in history during the month of March by recognizing Madam C. J. Walker and her great-great granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles...MOTIONS will make a special presentation at the Madam C. J. Walker Luncheon sponsored by the Bay Area National...
Beverly Lowry's speculative "nonfiction": the white author of a new Madam Walker biography is lauded by the mainstream as if Walker's award-winning black chroniclers never existed. But Lowry also acknowledges mistakes in her Walker text to BIBR and vows to fix some of them in the paperback edition.(Book Review)
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The Black Rose: Madam Walker's Journey
Newspaper article from: Los Angeles Sentinel; 2/7/2001; ; 677 words ; ...The Black Rose: Madam Walker's Journey By SARAH...the story of Madam C.J. Walker, in the...later known as Madam C.J. Walker, rose...found that although Madam and her husband still...Bethune said, "Madam C.J. Walker's life ...
Madam C.J. Walker: A Woman Who Made a Difference
Newspaper article from: Philadelphia Tribune, The; 4/30/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...04-30-2002 Madam C.J. Walker is a woman that...College to train Walker "hair culturists...operations of the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing...teacher. Ms. Walker continued to watch...In 1917, her Madam C. J. Walker Hair ...
Madam C.J. Walker: a woman who made a difference
Newspaper article from: Philadelphia Tribune, The; 2/11/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...02-11-2003 Madam C.J. Walker is a woman that...College to train Walker "hair culturists...operations of the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing...schoolteacher. Ms. Walker continued to watch...In 1917, her Madam C. J. Walker Hair ...
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Magazine article from: The American Organist; 2/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; MADAM C.J. WALKER was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23...hair growth. Her third husband, Charles J. Walker, suggested she market her product under the name "Madam C.J. Walker," and her business became known...
MADAM WALKER USED HAIR EMPIRE TO IMPROVE LIVES.(LIFE & LEISURE)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY); 2/11/2001; 700+ words ; ...writer Just as Madam C.J. Walker had nearly reached...hair. Omissions Madam C.J. Walker -- the famous...believable.'' Walker for several years...headquarters for the C.J. Walker Manufacturing...social causes. ``Madam Walker was ...
'Black Rose' blossoms with Madam C.J. Walker's inspiring life story
News Wire article from: University Wire; 2/9/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...09-2001 (Daily Bruin) (U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES -- Madam C.J. Walker might be less familiar to modern audiences than some...Haley amassed thousands of pages of research on Madam C.J. Walker before his death in 1992. Now novelist and...
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Madam C. J. Walker. Other (Public Domain)

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