Black History Month Feature: Madam C.J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker, also known as Sarah Breedlove, was born December 23rd, 1867 and died May 25, 1919. She was born on a plantation near Delta, Louisiana and was the first free-born in the family. She had a daughter named A’leia with her first husband Moses McWilliams and moved to St. Louis when he died. There she met her second husband, Charles. J. Walker. He had a background in advertisement and helped her kick start her business.

Madam C.J. Walker became the first self-made female American millionaire through her invention of African American hair products. She got her start by travelling the world and giving demonstrations and lectures called the “Walker Method” about her products which stemmed from her own hair loss. Madam C.J. Walker also opened a beauty school which her legacy lives on through. She set the foundation that so many African American hair products were able to build off of.