Madam C. J. Walker was a black woman that rose above her birth as a daughter of former slaves in the south to became both a very successful business woman and a millionaire.
"I got my start by giving myself a start"

According to the National Women's Hall of Fame, Madam C. J. Walker was "the daughter of former slaves, Walker worked initially as a washerwoman until she devised a hair care and grooming system to meet the needs of African-American women in 1905. Supervising the manufacture of a variety of products, she also developed an enormous marketing network, headquartered in Indianapolis, that employed thousands of African-American women and was the largest African-American owned business in the nation. Walker encouraged women's economic independence by training others and by serving as a powerful role model." 

In addition, the National Women's Hall of Fame tells us that "as the wealthiest African-American woman of her time, Walker used her prominent position to oppose racial discrimination, and her massive wealth to support civic, educational and social institutions to assist African-Americans. Madam C. J. Walker - Sarah Breedlove - was a highly successful entrepreneur, widely considered to be the first African-American millionairess. Walker was known and respected not only for her business acumen but for her inspirational political and social advocacy and her philanthropy." 

Her great-great granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles, actually maintains a very nice web site about Madam C. J. Walker. Apparently A'Lelia Bundles has written a couple of books about Madam's C. J. Walker's journey from poverty to success.

From the web site www.MadamCJWalker.com a brief biography describes Madam C. J. Walker as "Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana plantation, this daughter of former slaves transformed herself from an uneducated farm laborer and laundress into of the twentieth century's
most successful, self-made women entrepreneur.  Orphaned at age seven, she often said, "I got my start by giving myself a start." She and her older sister, Louvenia, survived by working in the cotton fields of Delta and nearby Vicksburg, Mississippi."

I encourage you to spend the rest of your research at the www.MadamCJWalker.com web site as there is a lot of good information, photos, book references, and e-mail contact information for A'Lelia Bundles (Madam C.J. Walker's Great Great Granddaughter).

Posted by Contact on Monday February 12, 2001.