Walker was born on December 23, 1867 in Delta, Louisiana. She was the daughter of two sharecroppers named Owen and Minerva Breedlove. They were former slaves and lived on the Burney plantation. Her name at birth was Sarah Breedlove, but was changed when she married. When she was only seven, her mother died. Her father remarried and he then died right before she turned eight. She then was raised by her sister, Louvina. She married at the age of 14 because of her impoverished state to a man named Moses McWilliams. Two years later he was murdered by a lynch mob. Before he was killed they had a daughter, A"Lelia. She and her daughter then moved to St. Louis, Missouri and for eighteen years she supported her and her daughter by means of being a washerwoman.
While in St. Louis in 1905, she got the idea to help cosmetics for black women. Her treatment was designed to treat and heal scalp disease not to straiten hair like many people thought. To straighten hair, she used hot combs which she did not invent like many people have thought or heard. She gave the treatment to some of her friends and it worked for them so she moved to Denver and was going to start a business, but she realized she had no money. She began work as a cook to finance for her business. Then she met a newspaperman by the name of Charles Joseph (C. J.) Walker. He had an uncanny ability to sell things, which is just what she needed. She married him on January 4, 1906 and they started The Madame C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. The marriage ended but she kept the name and him as a sales agent. She transferred her headquarters from Denver to Pittsburgh to Indianapolis, where a plant was constructed and was used as a manufacturing plant, living quarters, and beauty school.
In 1906 she gave the mail order business to her daughter who set up headquarters in Pittsburgh. Madame Walker's company was the employer for around three thousand people.
Sarah Breedlove, better known as Madame C.J. ... At first, Madame Walker used all her profits for materials and advertising in various papers. C.J. ... Madame Walker decided to move her entire operation there. ... In 1927, construction of the Walker Building was completed in memory of Madame C.J. ...
At this point she became known as Madame C.J. ... Madam C.J. ... The Madame Walker Theatre was built in 1927 in Indianapolis as a performing arts center. ... Madame C.J. ... Madame C.J Walker may have died long ago, but her legacy will continue to live on forever....
In the same Era, one such woman persevered over many adversities, Sarah "Madame" C.J. Walker. ... In addition, she organized a nationwide membership of door-to-door agents, The Madame C. ... Walker Hair Culturists Union of America, as well as to open her own beauty school, the Walker College of Hair Culture. ... Only her female descendants have since exclusively managed Walker's empire, in keeping with her wishes. ...
Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker, better known as Madame CJ Walker, is famous for creating hair products for African American's hair. ... There, she married Charles Joseph Walker and changed her name to Madame CJ Walker. She started her own business and began selling Madame Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. ... Madame Walker's marketing agency led her to be known as the first African American woman to become a self-made millionaire. ... Marjorie Joyner became a remarkable figure in Madame CJ Walker's Industry....
The Honorable but Questioned Dr. Walker In the face of controversy, the courageous Dr. Mary Edwards Walker held her head high as she wore her "American Reform Dress", or the name given to such a provocative man's outfit of the day, "bloomers". Many things had been controversial in Dr. Walker's li...
