Ill-Equipped History

142: Madam CJ Walker: America's First Female Millionaire


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The story of Madam CJ Walker is a true rags-to-riches tale. Sarah Breedlove was born on a cotton plantation just after slavery was abolished in the south. After being orphaned at a young age, she struggled until she finally had an idea - create her own brand of hair care products for black women. Sarah Breedlove became Madam CJ Walker, who had a brand that would last decades, and arguably make her America's first female millionaire. 

 

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Sources

“Madam C.J. Walker” by A’Lelia Bundles

https://www.britannica.com/money/Madam-C-J-Walker

 

“Madam C.J. Walker” 

https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/madam-c-j-walker/

 

Self Made: What Happened to Madam C.J. Walker’s Hair-Care Empire?” by Yohana Desta (Mar 23 2020)

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/03/self-made-madam-cj-walker-company-true-story

 

“How Madam C.J. Walker Invented Her Hair Care Products” by Sara Kettler (Jan 19 2021)

https://www.biography.com/inventors/madam-cj-walker-invent-hair-care-products

 

“The Sharecopper’s Daughter Who Made Black Women Proud of Their Hair” by Hunter Oatman-Stanford (Aug 31 2015)

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/madam-walker/

 

“Madam C.J. Walker” 

https://indianahistory.org/education/education-resources/educator-resources/famous-hoosiers/madam-c-j-walker/

 

“Madam C.J. Walker” (Jan 23 2024)

https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/madam-cj-walker

 

“Madam Walker, the First Black American Woman to Be a Self-Made Millionaire” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/100-amazing-facts/madam-walker-the-first-black-american-woman-to-be-a-self-made-millionaire/

 

“Madam C.J. Walker” by Debra Michals (2015)

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/madam-cj-walker

 

“Madam C.J. Walker, the first U.S. self-made female millionaire, gets her own Barbie” by Wynne Davis (Aug 27 2022)

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119699259/madam-c-j-walker-barbie

 

"Netflix's ‘Self Made’ suffers from self-inflicted wounds” by A’Lelia Bundles (May 12 2020)

https://andscape.com/features/netflixs-self-made-suffers-from-self-inflicted-wounds/

 

“Netflix’s Self Made Makes a Mess Out of Madam C.J. Walker’s Extraordinary Life” by Judy Berman (Mar 18 2020)

https://time.com/5805147/self-made-review-madam-cj-walker/



Sound Credits: 

 

Music by music_for_video from Pixabay 

https://pixabay.com/music/comedy-%d1%81omedy-21407/

 

Knock 7x.aif by lth_stp -- https://freesound.org/s/120491/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 

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