Wouldn’t you like to make a million dollars? Madam C. J. Walker was born into poverty, the daughter of former slaves Owen and Minerva Breedlove, in rural Louisiana in 1867. She had four brothers and one sister. Judging from her history, no one would guess that she became a business owner and the first female millionaire.
At the age of seven Walker was tragically orphaned; her mother died most likely of cholera, and the causes of her father’s death are unknown. Walker was forced to move in with her older sister and her husband. This wasn’t an easy life for Walker. Her sister’s husband was abusive and made Walker’s life very difficult. She was forced to seek escape, through marriage, at the age of fourteen.
Walker and her husband were married for seven years, and had one daughter. When Walker was twenty, and her daughter only two, her husband also passed away. This left Walker
fully responsible for her daughter’s welfare.
This early life was sad and challenging, though not uncommon. There was nothing particular of note in Walker’s history that would lead one to foresee her later success. However, this thrust into independence might be said to have propelled Walker down the path to greatness.
In order to care for her daughter, Walker moved to St Louis where her brothers resided and worked as barbers. For herself, Walker found employment as a laundress and saved enough money to put her daughter through school.
One day, Walker’s hair began falling out. Perhaps from stress, or potentially from a common scalp infection of the time (due to irregularity of hair care in that time period). Like most people, Walker wanted her hair to remain soft and attractive, so she experimented until she was able to create a hair care formula that conditioned and maintained her hair’s health. Once she found success with her own hair, Walker began a mail order business. This grew and she began door to door sales and public demonstrations all over the South. Eventually she became a national corporation, employing over three thousand people, that included both hair and beauty products. Walker was so successful that after fifteen years she became the first female entrepreneur to make a million.
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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
Greetings Inner Circle Corona,
Thanks very much for featuring Madam Walker and for including a link to our Walker biography website.
As Walker’s great-great-granddaughter and biographer–and as president of the Madam Walker Family Archives–I’m always thrilled and grateful when others are inspired by her story As you note, she overcame many obstacles and was a pioneer of the modern hair care industry. We also love for those who learn about her to know of her role as a philanthropist, arts patron and anti-lynching activist.
Today members of Madam Walker’s family proudly keep her legacy alive through our support of two National Historic Landmarks (the Walker Theatre Center, a restored 1927 National Historic Landmark in Indianapolis, and Villa Lewaro, her Westchester County, NY mansion); through our books and speeches; through the Madam Walker/A’Lelia Walker Family Archives, the largest private collection of inherited and acquired Walker photographs, business documents, letters and other personal Walker artifacts and by supporting successful entrepreneurs who exemplify the best of Madam Walker’s values.
With gratitude,
A’Lelia Bundles
http://www.madamcjwalker.com
http://www.aleliabundles.com
http://www.walkertheatre.com