Madam C.J. Walker (1867 – 1919)

Entrepreneur and social activist, Madam C.J. Walker, became the “first black woman millionaire in America” after creating her own line of African American hair products.

Born on December 23rd, 1867 in Delta, Louisiana, Walker was the first of her siblings to be “free-born” after her parents were freed from slavery. At the age of seven, both of Walker’s parents had passed, leaving Walker to live with her sister and brother-in-law in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Living with her sister, Walker worked in a cruel, oppressive work environment, picking cotton. To escape brutality, Walker married Moses McWilliams, who passed away in 1887.

During the 1890s, Walker developed a scalp disorder, causing her to lose much of her hair. Walker experimented with home and store hair care remedies and in 1905, Walker was hired as a commission agent by Annie Turnbo Malone, a black, hair-care product entrepreneur. While working for Malone, Walker and her husband, Charles J. Walker, worked on advertising for Walker’s hair care treatment.

 Walker traveled to the South and began promoting the “Walker Method,” which included scalp preparations, lotions, and heated iron combs. In 1908, Walker opened a factory and beauty school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By 1910, Walker moved her business operations to Indianapolis, Indiana and the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company became exceedingly successful.

 At the height of production, Walker employed over three thousand people, majority being black women. Walker became immensely involved in the social culture of the Harlem Renaissance, donating to homes for the elderly, the NAACP, and the National Conference of Lynching. Walker also established clubs for her employees, encouraging them to give back to their communities. Through her hard work and devotion, Walker became the first female self-made millionaire in America and the first black woman millionaire.