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Madam C.J. Walker Philanthropist, First Female Black Millionaire!

Born Sarah Breedlove on a Delta, LA cotton plantation, she is considered to be the first Black American woman millionaire. In some references she is described as the first self-made American woman millionaire. After being orphaned at age seven, and widowed with a two year old daughter, she moved to St. Louis where on a laundress’ salary she educated her daughter and sent her to Knoxville College. She decided to start her own line of hair care products and with less than two dollars in savings, set up a mail order business in 1906 in Denver, CO with the help of her new husband Charles Walker. The company grew to include a beauty school in Pittsburgh, and later offices in Indianapolis and Harlem. By 1916 the Walker Company included 20,000 agents, both men and women, in the U.S., Central America, and the Caribbean.

A noted philanthropist, Madam Walker gave $1000 to the building fund for the YMCA in the Indianapolis black community, the largest gift given by an African American woman. At the 1912 National Negro Business League convention, after League founder Booker T. Washington had refused her request to be on the program, she spoke from the floor and so impressed the mostly male audience that they invited her back the following year as a keynote speaker. In 1918 she gave the keynote speech at several NAACP fund-raisers for the anti-lynching effort and in her will contributed thousands of dollars to Black schools, individuals, organizations, and institutions.

Madam Walker was a strong advocate of Black women’s economic independence which she fostered by creating business opportunities for women at a time when the only other options were domestic work and sharecropping. Her business philosophy stressed economic independence for women: “…I want to say to every Negro woman present, don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come…Get up and make them!” (National Negro Business League, 1913) Her entrepreneurial strategies led to what has become a multi-billion dollar Black cosmetics industry and she used her wealth and status to work towards political and economic rights for African Americans and women.

Today we celebrate her legacy!

1 Response

  1. Angela Randolph

    I just wanted to inform your readers of this very important fact – Madame C.J. Walker’s historic company still exists today and has never stopped manufacturing all of the original hair oils! Anyone who visits our website at http://www.madamewalker.net can view and purchase the full product line.

    The website also contains valuable information about the stock / asset sale (including the ability to view the stock certificates) and Raymond Randolph’s purchase of the original Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company in 1985 from the Walker Trustees in Indianapolis, Indiana and how the Randolph Family continues to keep Madame Walker’s true legacy alive.

    To promote the entrepreneurial spirit that Madame Walker exemplified, the website provides individuals the opportunity to become a “Walker Agent” and sell Madame C.J. Walker products. By clicking on the “Find A Distributor” tab, you will see agents located in the United Kingdom, France, Bahamas, and the United States.

    September 2011 marked the Centennial Anniversary of the incorporation of Madame C.J. Walker’s historic company – doing business today as Madame C.J. Walker Enterprises. On September 24th, 2011 we commemorated this event with the “Tracing the Footsteps of a Legacy” 100th Year Celebratory Walk. You can visit our website to view the Souvenir Program.

    Due to our ownership of Madame’s historic company and the historical documents and memorabilia of the company, the Randolph Family can provide the most detailed and historically accurate information about Madame C.J. Walker and her company by calling toll free, 866-552-2838, by clicking on the “Frequently Asked Questions” FAQS tab of our website, or by going to the contact us page of our website.

    Angela Randolph
    
http://www.madamewalker.net

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