Sarah Breedlove was born on December 23, 1867. She was born with a scalp ailment that resulted in her losing her hair. She invented a line of African-American hair care product in 1905.
As her brand started to expand, her husband Charles encouraged her to use the name "Madam CJ Walker". They both traveled together promoting her products.
Walker's business was valued at more than $1 million. Her personal fortune was said to be between $600,000 and $700,000.
She is now known as the first American women to become a self-made millionaire. She was loved and appreciated by people. She donated to scholarship funds, the NAACP, and campaigns to stop lynching. Before her passing, she also helped build a black YMCA Indianapolis.
Many other people wanted to start their own business but theirs didn't flourish because they came in the way of "white business". One of the reasons Sarah Breelove's business flourished was because her product didn't have any effect on the white community so they didn't have a reason to stop her.
It is facinating to see when white people decided to take action against those of color. In this case due to Sarah's product not having any affiliation with them or affecting there companies, they left her alone. But if anyone else were to try to prosper in the industry impacting whites, they would instantly be shut down. Or even accused of something. It is sad to see how self centered whites were during this time.
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting to see how white people usually work against black businesses when they affect the success of their own businesses. Yet in this case, since the success of Breedlove's product didn't take away from white business owners, she was able to do very well and continuously expand.
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