Madam C.J. Walker's Legacy in Beauty and Empowerment

by Moore Vang, age 15

A pioneer in African-American history, Madam C.J. Walker has had a lasting

impact on the beauty industry and African-American history in the U.S. during the late 1800s to early 1900s. She is most well known for creating hair products for Black women at a time when they did not have access to specific products for their hair. Walker created a successful business for herself and helped provide for others throughout her career.

Madam, born Sarah Breedlove, was born on Dec 23, 1867, in Delta, Louisiana. She was born free and grew up as a sharecropper alongside her family. Her parents died when she was young, so she lived with her older sister until she turned 14. She ran away and married a man named Moses McWilliams after her sister’s husband became too abusive towards her. Sarah gave birth before the age of 17 to her daughter Lelia who was her only child. Unexpectedly, Moses passed away only three years after Lelia’s birth, leaving Madam as a widowed mother.

These hardships led Madam to make a fresh start as she moved to St. Louis with her daughter and began working at laundromats to make $1.50 a day, while attending school at night. In 1906, she remarried a man named Charles Joseph “C.J.” Walker. When she remarried, she renamed herself to what became her famously known name, Madam C.J. Walker. Madam took a job selling beauty products for Black women in her early 20s, and began experimenting with her own formulas at home. By doing these experiments, she sought to create healthy products that softened her hair and eased her scalp. She began seeing her hair start to grow, which gave her an idea for a business.

When Walker started selling her products, she began advertising them in Black publications and sold them through a mail ordering system. Madam was satisfied with how her hair was and held lectures and demonstrations of the “Walker Method.” This method described ways to wash hair with shampoo, how to brush it, how to massage the scalp and any treatments to promote healthy hair.

By 1910, business was at its peak and Madam moved to Indianapolis to build a factory and establish a permanent company headquarters. However, controversy about Black beauty caused issues within the community. This was from white racists, who claimed that Black women who could not smooth their hair were unclean and messy. Despite this, Madam argued that the products were about health, and not just helping straighten and smooth hair. Due to the controversy, she used her business to help empower Black women financially, by founding many beauty training schools, and employing hundreds of women across the country.

In 1913, Madam divorced Charles and began to focus on expanding her company into the Caribbean and Latin America. She decided to move to Harlem with her daughter in 1916 and had her employees work on day-to-day operations while she worked on new projects. Before she could accomplish these goals, she passed away on May 25, 1919, at the age of 51, due to problems of high blood pressure.

Madam was a wealthy woman and she did whatever she could to give back to others. She donated to scholarships, homes for the elderly, anti-lynching efforts, and resources to the local and national Black community. At the end of her life, she had an estimated net worth of $1 million (between $14 to $30 million in 2024) and was recognized as the first self-made, Black female to become a millionaire in America. This, and many other accomplishments, have influenced others to achieve their goals.

Madam C.J. Walker’s legacy, along with her integrity, will never be forgotten.

[Source: Women and the American Story]