Madam C. J Walker Research Papers

Sarah Breedlove also known as, Madam C.J Walker was the first African American woman to become a self made millionaire by making hair products for African hair. She lived near Delta, Louisiana and was also the first in her family to be born-free (after slavery). In 1874, she was sent to live with her sister at the age of 7 when her parents, Owen and Minerva died. She suffered a scalp disorder and has tried everything to help it. She has tried home remedies and hair care treatments but they never helped her. She then was hired as commission agent by a successful hair care product entrepreneur, Turnbo Malone. She then went to Colorado to start her entrepreneurial journey.

In Madams early life, she was the 5th child to be born after slavery.

She met a man, Charles Joseph Walker and married him in 1906; soon after she married him, she started marketing her hair products and herself. She did this with the help of her husband Charles. They traveled so she can promote her products in 1907 to the south and southeast. Her husband has inspired her to name the products, “Madam C.J. Walker” so people can recognize the product a little better. She started her own company, “Beauty Empire” that sold her products nationally to the African American community. She hired agents to sell her products and inform her customers on the importance of hygiene and caring for themselves. These agents were called the, “Walker Agents”. The products she sold were metal hot combs operates by stoves, and facial skin creams. She hired other African Americans to be her employees and would encourage them to be entrepreneurs

Her had a lot of growing profits and business investors wanting to be hired to market her products. African Americans loved the product because they felt like someone actually cared enough to make a products just for their hair texture. Some of the negatives Madam had to face was critics believing that changing the natural hair texture wasn’t right. She overcame this when she realized how big her business was getting. She opened a school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lelia college, which stood till 1908-1910 for “hair culturists”. Madam and her daughter A’Lelia moved to Indianapolis, India to start their factory for their product in 1910. Madam has traveled to a lot of place which were to the Caribbean,Latin America. She also beend to conventions for African American organizations, civic groups and churches. Her daughter encouraged her to buy a property in New York City in 1913. She made an estate called Villa Lewaro and has constructed her own home in