By Tatiana Ponil
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Madam C. J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. Walker is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records. Multiple sources mention that although other women (like Mary Ellen Pleasant) might have been the first, their wealth is not as well-documented.
Walker made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women through the business she founded, Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. Walker became known also for her philanthropy and activism. Walker made financial donations to numerous organizations such as the NAACP and became a patron of the arts. Villa Lewaro, Walker’s lavish estate in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana served as a social gathering place for the African-American community. At the time of her death, Walker was considered the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and wealthiest self-made black woman in America. Her name was a version of “Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker” after her third husband.
LEGACY
The Indiana Historical Society preserves Walker’s papers in Indianapolis. Walker’s legacy also continues through two properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York, and the Madame Walker Theatre Center in Indianapolis. A fraternal organization called the Companions of the Forest in America purchased Villa Lewaro following A’Lelia Walker’s death in 1932. The National Register of Historic Places listed the house in 1979. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has designated the privately owned property a National Treasure.
Indianapolis’s Walker Manufacturing Company headquarters building (renamed the Madame Walker Theatre Center) opened in December 1927. It included the company’s offices and factory, a theater, a beauty school, a hair salon and barbershop, a restaurant, a drugstore, and a ballroom for the community. The National Register of Historic Places listed the building in 1980.
A museum devoted to Walker, as well as historic radio station WERD, established itself on the site of a former Madam C. J. Walker Beauty Shoppe in Atlanta.
On January 31, 2022, Sundial Brands, a division of Unilever, launched a collection of eleven new products under the brand name “MADAM by Madam C. J. Walker” and sold exclusively at Walmart. These products replace the line that was launched on March 4, 2016, by Sundial Brands, a skincare and haircare company, in collaboration with Sephora in honor of Walker’s legacy. The line “Madam C. J. Walker Beauty Culture” comprised four collections focused on using natural ingredients to care for different hair types.
