02/23/2024
It's the fourth day of our Black History Beauty series and today we're featuring Madam C.J. Walker because a black history beauty series without her is incomplete.
Madam C.J. Walker
Madam C.J. Walker who was originally born Sarah Breedlove was born on December 23, 1867, in Louisiana. She was one of six children. At the tender age of seven, Sarah lost her mother due to an illness in 1872 and one year later her father passed away, making her orphaned. She moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi with her older sister, Louvenia, and brother-in-law, Jesse Powell, where she became a domestic servant and was abused by her brother-in-law. She married her first husband, Moses McWilliams at the age of 14 to escape the abuse she was receiving at home by her brother-in-law, Jesse. She had a daughter with Moses on June 6, 1885, and named her Lelia. Sadly, Moses passed away in 1887 so she moved her and her daughter to St. Louis in 1888, where three of her brothers were already living.
In St. Louis, she worked as a laundress and sang at the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church and often became inspired by the women of the church to pursue a better education. Sarah (Madam C.J. Walker) suffered severe dandruff and hair loss due to economic factors like the lack of indoor plumbing, harsh chemicals used to wash hair and clothes, and skin conditions. She also met her second husband John Davis around 1894 in St. Louis and later divorced around 1903. She faced many challenges, but her hunger for more kept her motivated.
She was always learning different things about hair care because her brothers were also barbers in St. Louis, but she wanted to know more. She became a commissioned sales agent for Annie Malone during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. While working for Annie Malone, she began to take in her knowledge and create her own product line at home. In 1905, Sarah moved her and her daughter to Denver, Colorado where she continued to sell Annie Malone's products, including the Wonderful Hair Grower, and started her own hair care business. Things between her and Annie started to get hostile when Sarah started her business because Annie believed that she was stealing her formula and advertising it as her own.
She married Charles Joseph Walker the following year in 1906 and changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker ( we will now refer to her as Madam). Madam started marketing herself as an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetics. She also sold her own Wonderful Hair Grower product, which caused more conflict between her and her ex-mentor, Annie. With the expertise of her husband, Charles, who was an advertising salesman she began to market her products and sell door-to-door, teaching black women how to style and groom their hair at home. Madam would put her daughter, Lelia in charge of the mail orders in Denver and she and her husband Charles would travel to Southern and Eastern states to expand the business. Two years later in 1908, Madam and Charles moved the business to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and opened a beauty parlor and Lelia College, where she trained hair culturists. Madam was a strong advocate for black women in business so she also started a program for her nationally licensed agents called the Walker System.
By 1910 the business had grown so much, that Madam opened another base in Indianapolis, while Lelia ran the day-to-day operation in Pittsburgh. She established her headquarters Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Co. and purchased her a home and factory at 640 North West Street in Indianapolis. She also built a hair salon, a beauty school for training her agents, and a laboratory for research. By 1913, she had opened another beauty parlor and office in Harlem, New York, which came an African-American culture.
Madam's company was booming as reports of her hair products making hair softer and more manageable. Her system included a shampoo and pomade. The product was being duplicated in Europe! Her biggest competitors were Annie Malone's Poro System, from which her own product was derived, and Sarah Spencer Washington's Apex System. By 1917, inspired by wanting financial freedom for women, she was inspired by the National Association of Colored Women's model, she created the National Beauty Culturists and Benevolent Association of Madam C.J. Walker Agents. The first annual conference held in Pennsylvania in 1917 had 200 attendees. It is believed to be the first national gathering of women to discuss business and commerce. From 1911-1919 her company employed and trained over 20,000 women. Her story is truly a testament to what perseverance can do.
Let's hear it for Madam C.J. Walker!!
