Madame C.J. Walker

Philanthropist, Millionaire, Woman

Biography Project by Emily Berry, Fall 2003

"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 good and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground."
~Madame C.J. Walker, National Negro Business League Convention-July 1912

 

Sarah Breedlove, more popularly known as Madame C.J. Walker, began her life impoverished, orphaned, and alone. Through her own determination she sought out a life of riches and used her talents to help fellow African Americans. Her story begins in December of 1867 when she was born in Delta, Louisiana.

Her parents were poor Negro farmers and at the age of seven they left her an orphan. Shortly thereafter she moved to Saint Louis, Missouri where she worked as a washerwoman and housecleaner until she married local newspaperman, Charles J. Walker at the age of 14. Sarah chose to take her husbands name and placed Madame in front of it in hopes that she could start a new life with a new identity.

 

The year before her marriage, 1905, Madame Walker created a hair treatment for straightening African American hair. The idea was developed in St. Louis where she gained momentum. She began selling her product door to door and swiftly made money. In order to expand her market she moved her business to Denver, Colorado. She soon was selling her product rampantly and in September of 1906 she left Denver to travel the South.

 

By 1908, her business was booming. She moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she opened a college to train the agents who assisted her in the selling of her product. Two years later she moved to Indianapolis and built a factory headquarters. This factory was named the Walker College of Hair Culture and Walker Manufacturing Company. She acted as the owner and president of the company in which she employed nearly 3,000 people. In 1916 the company had grown to 20,000 agents in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. Madame Walker moved to New York to endulge in her new found millionaire status.

 

One of the most fascinating aspects of Madame Walker's life is that she used her millionaire status to engage in large amounts of philanthropy. Among her countless acts she:

Then in 1998, the United States Postal Service created a stamp to honor her.

Madame Walker had many roles in her life and accomplished many things. The times of the country during her lifetime were ever changing with Progressivism at an all time high during the peak of her life. Although she wasn't a progressive in the typical sense she supported the reform movements of the progressive era. She stood for such reforms as women's rights and the need to "remoralize society." She spent more time focusing on uniting her people and her cause, though. She felt that through her company she gave women the confidence to spark change themselves. She philanthropically supported progressivism causes but did not take an active role in the reformation process. So, although she was not a progressive her ideals and monetary acts supported progressive thought.

 

 

Bibliography

Bellis, Mary. 2003. Madame C.J. Walker (1867-1919) [online]. Available from the world wide web:
(http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blwalker.htmrl)

-This article gives a very brief description of the life and times of Madame Walker. It specifically speaks of her time in Pittsburgh where she established college to train her employees.

 

Gruening, Martha. 2003. Sarah Breedlove Walker [online]. Farmington Hills: Biography Resource Center, 2003. Available from the world wide web: (http://galenet.galegroup.com)

-This artcile found from Gale Group's Informe and BRC Database is simply a biographical essay. It is very short and very briefly describes her life and accomplishments. This article mainly discusses her infamy with her hair product company.

 

Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Social Activist. 2003. Available from the world wide web: (http://madamcjwalker.com/rl)

-This article mostly discusses the books and research that have been written concerning Madame Walker. The author of the book On Her Own Ground discusses some important aspects of Madame Walker's life. This article also contains a brief summary of Walker's life including many informative pictures relating to her.

 

Madame C.J. Walker. 2003. [online]. Princeton University. Available from the world wide web: (http://www.princeton.edu/~mcbrown/display/walker.htmlrl)

-This article gives a detailed background of Madame Walker's life including much information on her roots and childhood including many pictures. This article focuses on Madame Walker as an African American in the sciences. It is extensive in discussing her company and its impact on African American women and society.

 

Roberts, Mary Louise. "Gender, Consumption, and Commodity Culture." American Historical Review (1998): 842.

-This journal discusses the dominate female leaders of the nineteenth-century in Europe. Madame Walker's name appears on one page where she is described as creating a new image for African American women by increasing their confidence thus helping to change the stereotypes of black women during the era.

 

Madam C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove). 2003. [online] United States Senate. Available from the world wide web: (http://www.senate.gove/~landrieu/whm/walker.htmlrl)

-This article was written during women's history month. It describes Walker and her contribution to the history of women. It discusses her life and accomplishments.

 

Stetson, Erlene. "Black Feminism in Indiana, 1893-1933." Phylon XLIV, no. 4 (1983): 295.

-This journal article discusses black feminism during the progressive era. It examines the social limitations put upon women, the steps they took to change those, and their effect on history. This article briefly mentions Walker and how she created a supportive network for women through her cause.