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Business or Betrayal?
One of Turnbo's sales agents was a former customer named Sarah Breedlove, whom she met in St. Louis, MO. Breedlove eventually started her own hair product line, citing her formula as divinely inspired through a dream, and adopting Turnbo's sales strategy of hiring local Black women. Breedlove would become famous as Madam C J Walker, the first Black woman to become a self-made millionaire, although some researchers claim that Turnbo should be the holder of that historic title. Turnbo had not patented her formula or trademarked her Wonderful Hair Grower, so she was unable to sue when Breedlove called her featured product "Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower." As Walker's fame increased and her business blossomed, Turnbo's diminished, and her company struggled to remain relevant.
Bibliography: Gates, Jr., Henry L. Madam Walker, the First Black American Woman to Be a Self-Made Millionaire. http://www.pbs.org
Wills, Shomari. Black Fortunes. New York: Harper Collins, 2018. Print.
Wills, Shomari. Black Fortunes. New York: Harper Collins, 2018. Print.
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