Sarah Breedlove
Born in poverty, Madam CJ Walker made a large amount of money after selling her own hair products, which made her the first Black and female self-made millionaire. By 1919 she was a successful businesswoman who was running an international beauty and hair care line that had 25,000 active sales agents. She also invented the world’s first hair straightening formula and the hot comb. Miss Walker also used her position to advocate for the rights of people of colour, and for an end to lynching.
23 December 1867
25 May 1919
Delta, Louisiana
African American
- 1906 – Started the production of her own hair care products.
- 1908 – Miss Walker acquired enough money to open her own beauty school, Leila College, naming it after her daughter. She also relocated the production of her hair products to the school.
- 25 May 1919 – Became a millionaire.
Sarah Breedlove was born on a plantation in Delta, Louisiana. Sarah was the fifth child of the family, having three brothers and a sister. When Sarah was aged six she was orphaned. She went to live with her married older sister Louvenia, and they moved to Mississippi where Sarah worked picking cotton and doing household work. To escape her abusive brother-in-law, she married at the age of 14 to Moses Mcwilliams. Four years later Sarah had her first and only child Leila Walker, who would later be known as A’Lelia. After becoming a widow at the age of 20, she moved to St Louis, Missouri, where her elder brothers lived and worked as barbers. She was inspired to get a proper education after joining St Paul’s African Methodist Episcopal Church. The members of the National Association of Coloured Women mentored her.
In 1905 Sarah decided to develop her own formula for hair after suffering from hair loss and using products that were made for black hair but manufactured by white businesses. She saw a gap in the market and sold her homemade hair products directly to Black women. In 1906, she met and married her third husband Charles J Walker, who helped Sarah with marketing, advertising and orders.
Charles persuaded Sarah to change her name to Madam CWalker for marketing purposes. Although Charles and Madam C J’s business was growing and expanding, their relationship was becoming dysfunctional and in time would lead to a divorce. After realising how successful her products and profits were, Madam Walker then multiplied her production of hair care products by expanding and building more factories, which would, in turn, lead to her establishing the international Walker Manufacturing company and becoming the first Black female millionaire.
Madam Walker was also a political activist. She established the International League of Darker Peoples, which was set up to promote Afro Asian communities, and she donated her wealth to many causes and organisations In 1917 she travelled to the White House to join a delegation who were petitioning President Woodrow Wilson to make lynching a federal crime. In 2018 she received the Chancellor and Provost Medallion which was accredited by the IUPUI (Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis ).
Madam CJ Walker, also known as Sarah Breedlove, was born on 23 December 1867 in Delta, Louisiana. Her mother’s name was Minerva and father was Owen. She had one sister, Louvenia, and three brothers, Owen Jr, Alexander and Solomon. She also had three marriages during her lifetime. She was married to Moses Mcwilliams (1882-1887), John Davis (1894-1903) and Charles Joseph Walker (1906-1912). Madam Walker only had one child, Leila Walker. At the age of 51 she died from hypertension.
The source of her inspiration for her hair products was due to her own hair problems. She had worked as a commission agent for Annie Turnbo Malone, who was another Black haircare entrepreneur. In 1918 before she died she built a large mansion later to be named Villa Lewaro
I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations…. I have built my own factory on my own ground.”
Madam CJ Walker Burial Site. 08/03/2022
Woodlawn Cemetery–Madam Walker’s Burial Place–Named National Historic Landmark
Timeline of Madam CJ Walker’s life. 08/03/2022
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/madam-cj-walker–3
Leila College of Beauty Culture. 08/03/2022
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lelia-College-of-Beauty-Culture
https://www.biography.com/news/madam-cj-walker-invent-hair-care-products
https://www.biography.com/inventor/madam-cj-walker
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=132762
https://timeline.com/madame-cj-walker-history-50d6d7090076
https://chancellor.iupui.edu/campus-leadership/honors-and-awards/chancellors-medallion/walker.html
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