MADAME C.J. WALKER

MADAME C.J. WALKER, (1867 -1919) Businesswoman and one of the first self-made female millionaires in America. She made a fortune developing products for African American hair.

Madam Walker was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1992.  She also has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the National Cosmetology Hall of Fame, and the National Direct Sales Hall of Fame.

Narration:

Haircare giant, millionaire, and philanthropist. Her name – Madame C.J. Walker.

Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 in Louisiana.  She was one of six children, orphaned by the age of seven.

After three marriages and one child, by the 1890s, Sarah developed a scalp condition and began to lose her hair. Embarrassed, she experimented with home remedies and other products until she developed her own shampoo and ointment.

Sarah soon changed her name to Madam C. J. Walker and began selling her hair products for African American women throughout the United States.

She also founded the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company.

Her products became a thriving corporation employing over 3,000 people nationwide.

A generous philanthropist, at her death in 1919 she was considered the wealthiest African American woman in America and the first self-made female American millionaire.

Madame C. J. Walker – A Great American

Credits: Editor: Stacy T. Holmes, ACE, Narrator: Steve Schy, Music: PartnersinRhyme.com, Digital Collection: Library of Congress, Copyright: CBN Communications