madame CJ Walker Portrayed by
Born with the name Sarah Breedlove, Madame C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur, and an early civil rights advocate who sought equality for African Americans. As America’s first female self-made millionaire, she was a philanthropist who was an enthusiastic financial supporter of Black Colleges and Universities.
Walker amassed her fortune through dedication, hard work, and innovation. She began with a small “Special Correspondence Course” business, founded on her System of Beauty Culture. This self described “hair-growing” business, was borne out her desire to remedy her own hair loss. On September 19th, 1911 the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company of Indiana, Inc. wherein Madame Walker was the President and sole shareholder, was incorporated. As she focused on growing hair, her business also grew rapidly.
Dedicated not only to her work but to her community as well, Walker began teaching other African American women how they too could likewise succeed in business. She was sought after to lecture on social, political, and economic topics. Walker was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was instrumental in their efforts to make lynching a federal crime. Walker is recognized by the National Association Of Colored Women (NACW) for making the largest contribution to save the home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. She donated throughout her career to the NAACP, the YMCA, and to black schools, organizations, individuals, orphanages, as well as retirement homes.
Daisy Century: Bio Actor/Historian, Interpreter, Reenactor, Impersonator