Madam C J Walker

"I got myself a start by giving myself a start."

Photo by Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.) (photographers). [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

FIRST woman to become a self-made millionaire (maybe...)
Initially lifted herself out of poverty by selling Annie Turnbo Malone's hair care products, but eventually created her own formula and went into business for herself
Born Sarah Breedlove, daughter of two former slaves, both of whom died by the time she was seven years old
Changed her name to Madam CJ Walker after marrying her third husband
Marketed her business as more than just products, but a gateway to a lifestyle change, and within twelve years she was the head of a manufacturing and sales empire
Encouraged customers to sell for her, employing thousands of people throughout the United States, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Costa Rica, and the Panama Canal Zone at the company's peak
Contrary to popular belief, she did not invent the hot comb, but she did improve upon the standard model, and successfully sold her version
Campaigned to make lynching a federal crime
Became a well known philanthropist, donating to civil rights groups, orphanages, and schools

Open for Debate

~ Some critics believed - and the conversation continues today - that hair straightening products simply promoted the white perception of beauty, rather than celebrating the natural hair types of Black women. As for Walker herself, she mostly avoided the controversy by saying her products were divinely inspired.

~ There's also some debate over whether Walker was in fact the first female millionaire, or if it was actually Annie Turnbo, the chemist whose products Walker originally sold; some even think she stole Turnbo's products and simply rebranded them as her own. Others say she spent too much of her profits to ever actually achieve the status of millionaire, and that those claims were merely for marketing purposes.

Bibliography: Bundles, A'Lelia P. "Walker, Madam C.J." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Vol. 4, Oxford University Press, 2008, 324.
Drimmer, Stephanie W. National Geographic Kids: The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals. Washington DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC, 2016. Print.
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.

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