Sarah Breedlove better known as Madam
C.J . Walker was born on December 23rd 1867 in Delta, Louisiana and
is regarded as the first female self-made millionaire. Her parents
and siblings were all born into slavery and she was the first born
free after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. This is where it
gets kinda weird. At the age of 14 she married her brother to escape
her step-mom's bad treatment and three years later had a daughter.
Hmm. Okay.
A few years later she moved and began working with her
brothers who were all barbers. She worked as a washer barely making a
dollar a day. She experienced hair issues because back then taking
care of Black hair was a nightmare. In 1904 she began selling
products for Annie Turnbo Malone who was a Black hair care
entrepreneur. She later began making her own products and married a
newspaper advertising salesman named Charles Joseph Walker. She then
trained women in the art of selling hair care products. Her business
grew and by 1917 she held her first Madam Walker Beauty Culturists
convention. This is said to be the first national meeting of women in
America brought together to discuss business practices. She let
everyone know that getting involved in politics and philanthropy were
important. Her business eventually expanded to Cuba, Costa Rica,
Panama, Haiti, and Jamaica.
Click here for previous Famous Black
Firsts.
No comments:
Post a Comment