Madam CJ Walker

Madam CJ Walker

Sarah Breedlove was born to two former slaves.

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

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

Married Charles Joseph Walker and renamed herself Madam CJ Walker.

December 23, 1867

1905

1881

1894

1889

1874

1904

1905

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

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

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

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

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

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

Provided employment for thousands of black women.

Created a gathering place for African-American leaders.

1910

She set up a laboratory and beauty school in Indianapolis.

1919

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

Became the first African-American female millionaire.

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.