Madam C. J. Walker

Sarah Breedlove , known as Madam C. J. Walker, was an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a political and social activist. Eulogized as the first female selfmade millionaire in America, she became one of the wealthiest African American women in the country. Walker made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of beauty and hair products for black women through Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, the successful business she founded. Walker was also known for her philanthropy and activism. She made financial donations to numerous organizations and became a patron of the arts. Villa Lewaro, Walkers lavish estate in IrvingtononHudson, New York, served as a social gathering place for the African American community. The Madame Walker Theatre Center opened in Indianapolis in 1927 to continue her legacy. Both of these properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Breedlove was born on December 23, 1867, near Delta, Louisiana, to Owen and Minerva Breedlove. Sarah was one of six children, which included an older sister, Louvenia, and four brothers Alexander, James, Solomon, and Owen Jr. Breedloves parents and her older siblings were enslaved on Robert W. Burneys Madison Parish plantation, but Sarah was the first child in her family born into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Her mother died, possibly from cholera, in 1872 her father remarried, but he died within a few years. Orphaned at the age of seven, Sarah moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the age of ten and worked as a domestic. Prior to her first marriage, she lived with her older sister, Louvenia, and brotherinlaw, Jesse Powell.

Source: Wikipedia