39th Madam CJ Walker Awards Luncheon

Madam C.J. Walker is celebrated as one of the first self-made African American female millionaires. Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867, in Delta, Louisiana, she was the daughter of impoverished parents. Orphaned at the age of six, she was raised by her older sister. At 14, she married Moses McWilliams of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and later gave birth to their daughter, Lelia. The family remained in Vicksburg until McWilliams' passing.

Determined to provide for her young daughter and build a better future, Walker moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she worked as a washerwoman for 18 years. In 1895, through trial and error, she refined a straightening comb to style naturally curly hair. Encouraged by its initial success, she began developing and selling additional hair care products, packaging them in jars and selling them door-to-door. In 1906, she married Charles Joseph Walker, adopting the name Madam C.J. Walker.

By 1910, she relocated her operations to Indianapolis, Indiana, where her business thrived. Her company, Walker Manufacturing, was incorporated and expanded to include a research laboratory and a training school, where she taught the “Walker System” of hair styling. It grew into the largest African-American-owned and operated business of its time.

At its peak, the company employed over 3,000 people and occupied an entire city block. Walker Manufacturing established beauty salons across the country, developed a major mail-order division, and even maintained foreign operations.

Despite her wealth and fame, Madam Walker remained devoted to uplifting her community. She generously supported Black organizations and charities, sponsoring numerous Black artists and artisans. Her contributions to the NAACP, Tuskegee Institute, Bethune-Cookman College, and the Harlem Renaissance helped pave the way for future generations of Black leaders and creatives.