A Brief Biography of Madam Cj Walker

A Brief Biography of Madam C.J. Walker

Sarah Breedlove was born in Delta, Louisiana on December 23, 1867, as the youngest child of Owen and Minerva Breedlove. She moved to Vicksburg with her sister Louvenia when she was ten. At the age of fourteen, she married Moses Jeff McWilliams. They had a daughter, Alelia, born in 1885. McWilliams passed away in 1887, reportedly as a victim of a race riot in Greenwood, Mississippi. Left a widow at 20, Sarah Breedlove McWilliams moved to St. Louis. She made a living as a laundress and attended public night schools alongside her work.

The Start of an Entrepreneurial Journey

During the 1890s, she became increasingly aware of the potential for African American women to benefit from enhancing their own appearance. By the time she was in her late 30s, Sarah's hair had begun falling out due to a combination of stress and the frequent use of damaging hair-care products. She was not alone in this struggle. Sarah began experimenting with her own hair-care solutions, trying various mixtures to create products that would treat and grow hair. Between 1900 and 1905, she developed a product to stimulate hair growth, with sulfur being the key ingredient. This discovery, along with the innovation of a steel brush that, when heated and used with a special pomade, could straighten hair, led her to start a new business.

Sarah soon pursued a strategy to expand her business beyond her local area in St. Louis. By 1905, she moved to Denver, and the following year, she married Charles J. Walker, a newspaperman. This union not only brought her personal happiness but also a new business identity as Madam C.J. Walker. By 1917, the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company had become one of America's most successful businesses.

Legacy and Impact

Madam C.J. Walker rose from poverty in the South to become one of the wealthiest African American women of her time. She used her position to advocate for the advancement of African Americans and to call for an end to lynching. A woman of extraordinary mental strength and vision, Madam C.J. Walker paved the way for generations of women entrepreneurs to follow. Her determination and drive took her from a cotton field to a mansion, from extreme poverty to wealth, serving as a lasting inspiration for Americans of all races who aspire to achieve a better life.

The Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company employed approximately 3,000 African American women and men to manufacture and sell hair products and cosmetics. The Walker Building, designed by Madam Walker herself but constructed after her death, was intended not only to serve as the headquarters for her business but also as a cultural hub for African Americans in Indianapolis.

References

Walker, A'Lelia Bundles. On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker. Scribner, 2001.

Bundles, A'Lelia. "Madam C.J. Walker: A Brief Biographical Essay." The Black Women Oral History Project, Harvard University, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 1980.