Anniversary of Madam C.J. Walker's Death

“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 C.J. Walker

(Madam C.J. Walker)

Madam C.J. Walker was born as Sarah Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana, USA on December 23rd, 1867. In 1872 her mother died. In 1874 her father died. At 10 years old she moved to Vicksburg, MI and worked as a domestic. She lived with her older sister and brother in law. In 1882 Breedlove married Moses Mcwilliams. In 1887 Mcwilliams died. In 1888 she moved to St. Louis, MO. She sang at the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church and started to yearn for an educated life as she watched the community of women at her church. She learned about hair care from her brothers who were barbers. In 1894 she remarried. In 1903 she left her husband. In 1904 she became a commission agent selling products for Annie Turnbo Malone. In 1905 she moved to Denver, CO. In 1906 she married again and she became known as Madam C.J. Walker. She then marketed herself as an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetic creams.

(Walker in 1906)

She sold her products door to door, teaching other black women how to groom and style their hair. In 1908 she moved to Pittsburgh, PA.

(Walker in 1908)

She opened a beauty parlor there. In 1910 she established the headquarters for the Madame C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis, IN. In 1913 she opened another parlor in Harlem, NY. Walker later built a factory, hair salon, and beauty school to train her sales agents, and added a laboratory to help with research. In 1916 she moved to Harlem, NY. She delivered lectures on political, economic, and social issues at conventions sponsored by powerful black institutions.

(Walker (Driving) in 1916)

Her friends and associates included Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, and W. E. B. Du Bois, among others. By 1917 the company claimed to have trained nearly 20,000 women. Also Walker began organizing her sales agents into state and local clubs.

(Walker in 1917)

Also in 1917 the first annual conference of the National Beauty Culturists and Benevolent Association of Madam C. J. Walker Agents convened in Philadelphia, PA with 200 attendees. Walker also joined the executive committee of New York chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1918 the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) honored Walker for making the largest individual contribution to help preserve Frederick Douglass’ Anacostia house. In 1919 Walker pledged $5,000 to the NAACP's anti lynching fund. On May 25th, 1919 Madam C.J. Walker died from kidney failure and complications of hypertension in Irvington, New York, USA. She was 51 years old.

(Walker’s grave)

Today is the 98th anniversary of her death. Take time to remember this great businesswoman today.