Madam C. J. Walker
Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist for Black women's economic independence.
Madam C. J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867, near Delta, Louisiana, and later known as Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker after her third marriage, was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. The Guinness Book of World Records lists her as the first self-made female millionaire in the United States, though some sources note that other women, such as Mary Ellen Pleasant, may have achieved this earlier but with less clearly documented wealth. She built her fortune by creating and selling a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women through her company, the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. Walker was also known for her philanthropy and activism, donating to organizations like the NAACP and supporting the arts. Her estate, Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York, became a gathering place for the African-American community. At her death on May 25, 1919, she was considered the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and self-made Black woman in America.
Walker was the first child in her family born free; her older siblings and parents had been enslaved on Robert W. Burney’s plantation. Her mother died around 1872, likely from cholera, and her father remarried but died a year later. Orphaned at seven, she moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, at age ten to live with her sister Louvenia and brother-in-law Jesse Powell, working as a domestic servant. She later said she had only three months of formal education, gained through Sunday school literacy lessons at church.
At 14, she married Moses McWilliams to escape abuse from her brother-in-law. They had a daughter, Lelia, born June 6, 1885. McWilliams died in 1887, leaving Walker a widow at 20. She remarried John Davis in 1894 but left him around 1903. In January 1906, she married Charles Joseph Walker, a newspaper advertising salesman, and began calling herself Madam C. J. Walker. They divorced in 1912; Charles died in 1926. Her daughter later took the surname Walker and became known as A'Lelia Walker.
Walker was a Christian and a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and her faith influenced her philanthropy.
In 1888, she moved with Lelia to St. Louis, where three of her brothers lived, and worked as a laundress for barely more than a dollar a day, determined to fund Lelia’s education. She suffered from severe dandruff and scalp ailments, including baldness, due to skin disorders, harsh hair and laundry products, poor diet, illness, and infrequent washing in an era without indoor plumbing or electricity. She learned about hair care from her brothers, who were barbers. Around the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, she became a commission agent for Annie Turnbo Malone, a Black haircare entrepreneur. Sales were poor because the African-American community was largely ignored. While working for Malone, Walker began developing her own product line. In July 1905, she moved to Denver, Colorado, still selling Malone’s products while building her own business. The two had a falling-out when Malone accused Walker of stealing her formula, a mixture of petroleum jelly and sulfur that had been used for a century.
After marrying Charles Walker in 1906, she marketed herself as an independent hairdresser and cosmetic cream retailer, adopting “Madam” from French beauty pioneers. Charles provided advertising advice. She sold products door to door, teaching other Black women hair care. In 1906, she put A'Lelia in charge of mail-order operations in Denver while she and Charles traveled to expand the business.
- field
- Entrepreneurship, philanthropy, activism
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- First documented self-made female millionaire in America; hair care and cosmetics for Black women; philanthropy to the NAACP and arts
Lore & Background
She was the first child in her family born after the Emancipation Proclamation, though her older siblings were born into slavery. Orphaned at age seven, she moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, at ten to live with her sister and brother-in-law, working as a domestic servant. Her formal education was limited, though the often-cited figure of only three months of schooling is not consistently documented in reliable sources and may be apocryphal. Walker developed her hair care business after suffering from dandruff and baldness due to harsh products and poor hygiene conditions. The nature of her early relationship with Annie Turnbo Malone is disputed; while some accounts say she initially sold products for Malone, the specifics of their association and any subsequent falling-out are not universally agreed upon. She employed thousands of Black women as sales agents, training them in the 'Walker System' and encouraging financial independence. Her philanthropy included donations to the NAACP and patronage of the arts, and her estate Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York, served as a social gathering place for the African-American community.
Reader's Guide
Madam C. J. Walker's significance lies in her documented status as the first self-made female millionaire in America, achieved through her hair care and cosmetics company for Black women. Her business model emphasized economic independence for Black women, training thousands as sales agents and beauty culturists. She also used her wealth for philanthropy, supporting the NAACP and the arts, and her home Villa Lewaro became a hub for African-American social life. Her legacy is complicated by disputes over whether she was truly the first self-made female millionaire, as earlier figures like Mary Ellen Pleasant may have preceded her with less documented wealth. Nonetheless, Walker's impact on Black entrepreneurship and women's economic empowerment remains notable. Her company's emphasis on advertising in Black newspapers and her frequent travels helped build a national brand. At her death, she was considered the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and wealthiest self-made Black woman in America.
Did You Know?
- Walker was the first child in her family born after the Emancipation Proclamation, though her older siblings were born into slavery.
- Her formal education was limited, but the often-repeated claim of only three months of schooling is not consistently documented in reliable sources and may be apocryphal.
- Her daughter A'Lelia Walker managed the Indianapolis office and later the New York City salon, and the Harlem salon was opened in 1913 with her involvement.
- Walker's estate Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York, served as a social gathering place for the African-American community.
Business Leadership and the Walker Company
Before assuming the role, she managed the East Coast operations out of a combined pair of brownstones on West 136th Street in Harlem, where the ground floor served as the Walker Hair Parlor and the second floor housed the Lelia College of Beauty Culture, a training ground for new cosmeticians destined for the company's shops. The top three floors were her private residence and entertaining space. Yet day-to-day operations fell to attorney F. B. Ransom and factory manager Alice Kelly at the Indianapolis headquarters. Walker was forced to sell significant portions of her art and antique collections. After her death, her adopted daughter Mae Walker took the helm, and the company eventually passed to Mae's daughter, A'Lelia Mae Perry Bundles, completing a fourth-generation succession.
The Dark Tower and Harlem's Cultural Salon
She commissioned Austrian designer Paul Frankl to create its interior, and the space brought together Harlem's artists with Greenwich Village peers, European royalty, and African dignitaries. Live music spanning classical, ragtime, jazz, and blues was a constant. Her townhouse was designed by Vertner Tandy, the first Black architect licensed in New York State and a founder of Alpha Phi Alpha. Notably, Walker's gatherings provided a safe, welcoming environment for queer people during a period when few such social options existed. While Walker herself was not known to be lesbian or bisexual, her parties allowed guests to express their sexuality freely. In an oral history for the Lesbian Herstory Archives, activist Mabel Hampton recalled attending one such party where some guests were naked and openly intimate.
Villa Lewaro and Architectural Vision
A'Lelia Walker's most ambitious architectural project was Villa Lewaro, a 20,000-square-foot Italianate mansion in Irvington, New York, in Westchester County. The name "Villa Lewaro" came after Italian tenor Enrico Caruso visited the completed property and remarked that the Irvington-on-Hudson mansion reminded him of the houses of his native Italy. Walker also maintained a pied-à-terre at 80 Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem, where she entertained in addition to her larger Manhattan townhouse. Tandy was the first Black architect licensed in New York State and a founder of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Walker's architectural choices reflected a deliberate commitment to showcasing Black creative talent at the highest level. She also founded the Harlem Debutantes Club, further embedding herself in the social infrastructure of the community. Her early love of classical music and opera was partly shaped by the choir director at the AME church she and her mother attended in St. Louis, who was a classically trained opera singer and organist.
Personal Life and International Travels
A'Lelia Walker's personal life was marked by three marriages and a remarkable period of international travel. In the 1920s, Walker spent four months traveling across Europe and beyond, visiting Paris, Nice, Monte Carlo, Naples, Rome, Cairo, Jerusalem, Djibouti, Addis Ababa, and London. In Paris, she socialized with jazz drummer Louis Mitchell and his wife Antoinette Brooks Mitchell, couturier Paul Poiret, actress Mistinguett, and actor Dooley Wilson. On her journey to Addis Ababa, she met Zewditu, the Empress of Ethiopia. Walker also supported local missionary work among Baptist women in New York City, served on various committees, and occasionally spoke at women's days and professional events. She attended Knoxville College in Tennessee before entering the family business.
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