Madam CJ Walker

1881

Sarah married Moses Williams at 14 years old and had her daughter Lelia

1894

Sarah gets married to John Davis and begins losing her hair.

1905

Married Charles Joseph Walker and renamed herself Madam CJ Walker.

1874

By the time Sarah was 7, she was an orphan working in a cotton field.

1889

Moved to St Louis Missouri and made $1.50 a day doing laundry.

1904

Sarah begins using a hair growth product and becomes a sales agent for the company.

1905

Madam CJ Walker

December 23, 1867

Sarah Breedlove was born to two former slaves.

Madam CJ Walker put $1.25 into creating her own hair line, selling it door-to-door, at churches, and eventually a mail-order catalog.

Madam CJ Walker

The last ten

1910

Donated to churches, schools, and hospitals and encouraged her employees to do the same.

1919

Madam CJ Walker became ill on a business trip and never recovered. She died May 25, 1919. Her legacy and products live on.

Traveled across the country teaching women how to use her hair products.

She set up a laboratory and beauty school in Indianapolis.

Created a gathering place for African-American leaders.

Used her influence to speak out against the lynching of black men and women.

Provided employment for thousands of black women.

During World War One, she was a member of a delegation to Washington protesting segregation policies.

Became the first African-American female millionaire.