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Madam C. J. Walker was beloved within her community for her philanthropy and establishing the local YMCA, but she couldn’t have done that if she wasn’t the first female self-made millionaire and one of the most successful African American business owners ever. Born Sarah Breedlove, she was the first person born free in her family. She married Charles Joseph Walker and became known as Madam C. J. Walker, the name she would later use on her haircare products. After talking with her brothers, who were barbers, she realized that African American women didn’t know how to properly care for their hair. This inspired her to start her own line of hair care products to do things like reduce dandruff, grow longer hair, smooth hair, or prevent baldness. Her company employed thousands of door-to-door saleswomen from all over the United States and the Caribbean. She supported the African American community by establishing the first YMCA in Indianapolis, funding scholarships for the Tuckegee Institute, and becoming a patron of the Harlem renaissance.
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Madam C. J. Walker was a self made millionaire who was beloved within her community for her philanthropy, and respected as a first rate business person. She was America’s first female self-made millionaire and one of the most successful African American business owners ever. Born Sarah Breedlove, she was the first person born free in her family. She married Charles Joseph Walker and became known as Madam C. J. Walker, the name she would later use on her haircare products. After talking with her brothers, who were barbers, and experiencing problems with hair loss, she developed a formula that healed scalp infections. This inspired her to start her own line of hair care products to do things like reduce dandruff, grow longer hair, smooth hair, or prevent baldness. Her company employed thousands of door-to-door saleswomen from all over the United States and the Caribbean. She supported the African American community by making a significant contribution for a new YMCA building in Indianapolis, funding scholarships for the Tuskegee Institute and Daytona Normal Institute for Girls, and becoming a patron of the arts in the early years of the Harlem Renaissance. Her hair care products are still produced today by Sephora and her story was the inspiration to the Netflix series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker and the adult biography On Her Own Ground, both also written by Madam C.J. Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles.
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