Madam C. J. Walker

When Sarah was barely fourteen years old, she entered the wedlock with a man named Moses McWilliams in a bid to escape the torture she was subjected to, by her brother-in-law Willie Powell. The couple had a baby girl who was named A’Lelia.

However, her husband died when Sarah was hardly twenty years old. She then tied the knot with Charles Joseph Walker, who worked with an advertising firm back then. Sarah adopted the name Madame C.J Walker only after she married Charles.

1917 was an eventful year for Madame, even on the personal front, apart from her famous business initiatives. She hired an architect named Verson Woodson Tandy during this period to design a house in New York, which cost her approximately $250,000.

Walker was born in a village named Delta, located in the American state of Louisiana on the 23rd of December 1867.She was originally christened Sarah Breedlove by her parents. Sarah had five siblings, namely Solomon, Owen Jr., Alexander and James as well as a sister named Louvenia.

Her family members were slaves, who lived for many years in a plantation in the state of Louisiana. It is believed that her mother succumbed to Cholera during the year 1872, after which Sarah’s father got married for a second time. However, he too lost his life a few years later.

When she was hardly seven years old, Madame sought refuge at the residence of her sister named Louvenia, who was married to a man named Willie Powell.

At the age of twenty, Sarah, along with her 2-year-old child, moved to the port city of St. Louis, a place where two of her siblings lived. She soon found the job of a washer woman in this city to make ends meet. Madame Walker hardly earned around a dollar as daily wages through this occupation.

She then went on to work with an entrepreneur named Annie Turnbo Malone and sold hair care products on behalf of the business woman.

Her knowledge on hair care products helped Sarah turn into a beautician, hairdresser and a retailer who earned profits through the sales of cosmetic creams. She soon started employing many female agents to create awareness of the culture of enhancing beauty.

Madame, along with her second husband Charles Joseph, set up an institution named ‘Lelia College’ in 1908 in a bid to groom the sales persons into ‘hair culturists’. She then relocated to the city of Indianapolis two years later and initiated various business establishments related to hair care, which included a beauty school and salon.

The city became a headquarters of Madame’s business operations, which soon expanded across cities such as Jamaica, Cuba, and Panama.

Walker’s most significant contribution towards the hair woes plaguing the American masses was her Pomade, a waxy hair cream that promised to reduce hair fall problems and intended to maintain the shine in the hair. These products were packaged in cans with a picture of Madame’s on the outer surface.