Madam c.j. walker family

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist, Madam C.J. Walker rose from poverty in the South to become one of the wealthiest African American women of her time. She used her position to advocate for the advancement of black Americans and for an end to lynching.

Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867, on a plantation in Delta, Louisiana, one of six children of Owen and Minerva Anderson Breedlove, former slaves-turned sharecroppers after the Civil War. Orphaned at age seven, Walker lived with her older sister Louvenia, and the two worked in the cotton fields. Partly to escape her abusive brother-in-law, at age 14 Walker married Moses McWilliams. When her husband died in 1887, Walker became a single parent of two-year old daughter Lelia (later known as A’Lelia).

Seeking a way out of poverty, in 1889, Walker moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where her four brothers were barbers. There, she worked as a laundress and cook. She joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she met leading black men and women, whose education and success likewise inspired her. In 1894, she marri

Madam C.J. Walker

Sarah Breedlove was born in Delta, La., on Dec. 23, 1867. She was the daughter of Owen and Minerva Anderson Breedlove. Both had formerly been enslaved. She was an orphan by the age of 7 and moved in with her older sister. At the age of 14, Sarah married Moses McWilliams. She maintained that she married young because of early hardships and in order to get a home of her own. In 1885, they had a daughter named Lelia, who later changed her name to A’Lelia and became a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Sarah’s husband died in 1887, leaving her to care for their daughter on her own.

Sarah then moved to St. Louis where three of her brothers lived and worked as barbers. She worked as a laundress and attended night school. Around this time, she started to lose her hair and noticed a lot of other black women had the same problem. Poor hygiene, diet and scalp diseases like dandruff led to brittle hair and hair loss. She experimented with many ingredients and finally came up with a secret formula to stimulate hair growth. Her “secret formu

Madam C. J. Walker

Black entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist (1867–1919)

Madam C. J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. Walker is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records.[1] Multiple sources mention that although other women (like Mary Ellen Pleasant) might have been the first, their wealth is not as well-documented.[1][2][3]

Walker made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women through the business she founded, Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. Walker became known also for her philanthropy and activism. Walker made financial donations to numerous organizations such as the NAACP and became a patron of the arts. Villa Lewaro, Walker's lavish estate in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana served as a social gathering place for the African-American community. At the time of her dea

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