Madame C.J. Walker

By Emma Tracy and Autumn Veldink

Introduction

Did you know that Madame C.J. Walker was the most successful black business woman of her time? Well, she was! She made hair products and you will learn about her most famous hair product. She had an amazing life and now you will be able to learn all about that too!

Childhood
Madame C.J. Walker was born as Sarah Breedlove. She was born December 23, 1867. Slavery had just ended, so Sarah was the only child who was born free into her family.

Sarah had a tough childhood. Her family log cabin was located in Louisanna. When she was about five years old, her mom died with yellowfever. Two years later her dad died from the same disease. After her dad died, she had to live with her mean uncle and aunt. They didn’t treat her fairly.

Marriages
Many years later, in 1885, Sarah got married. After that she had a daughter. Sadly, then her husband, Moses McWillams, died in a car crash. It was a very sad day for Sarah.

Luckily, Sarah got remarried. But this man was the wrong man for her. He got drunk and could not hold a job. So, later they got divorced. Sarah knew he was the wrong man for her.

Jobs
One day Sarah tried Pope-Turnbo hair products. It worked so well that she became a Pope agent. Unlike her job as a washer woman, Sarah really liked her new task!

Later, in 1905 the most important think happened to her. She had a dream, two men came up to her and told her ingredients to a magical hair grower. She put it together and put it on her hair. A few days later her hair started growing even faster than ever! Later an ad appeared for the new magical hair grower. To make sure it worked correctly she tried her products on herself. This was the most important thing that ever happened to her.

After Sarah invented her products, she made other things. She made hair grower, hair gels, and many similar things. After a while, Sarah had her own business!

Third Marriage
Finally, Sarah got married again. While she was working on her products, she met a business man named Charles J. Walker. They fell in love and got married. After they got married, Sarah called herself Madame C.J. Walker.

Convention
About six years later, in 1912, Madame C.J. Walker went to a convention. She had become quite a celebrity. Madame C.J. Walker wanted to be part of the convention. But they thought that she shouldn’t be part of the convention. Then, she spoke up, “I should be part of the meeting!” was probably something she had to say to get them to put her on the team. But when she was done all the people clapped for her. They must have thought she was good at growing hair because she had to do another speech! “What a girl. What a girl!”

Divorce
After the convention, things went downhill. Madam C. J. Walker had to divorce again. C.J. had started drinking and was going out with other women! He had even revealed the secret formula to her hair products!

Adoption
Later in Madame C.J. Walker’s life, she adopted a little girl her name was Mae. They adopted her because Lelia had no kids. So, they taught her to run the family business. So that then business could keep going.
Mae, was a perfect new model for the Madame C.J. Walker products!

Walker Agents
Six years later in 1916 Madame C.J. Walker got the idea of Walker Agents. These pupils were in college at the time. After she trained them to sell her hair projects, 20 other schools wanted to do it too! Later it became popular, around the United States. It was an amazing idea to others!

New Home
Later, in 1918, Madame C.J. Walker bought a new house. She called the Villa Lewardo. She had Italian gardens, and Madame C.J. Walker filled her house with astounding furniture. There were many other rich people who lived in her new neighborhood.

Death
While she was still in her new house, something bad happened. When Madame C.J.Walker was 51 years old, she got very sick. She had kidney disease. This happened while Madame C.J. Walker was in the state of Missouri. She knew that she was very sick. So she gave all her wealth to the people she loved.

Later, in 1919 Madame C.J. Walker died of her terrible kidney disease. She was only 51 years old! She knew she would die. When she died she left behind her house. She gave it to her beloved ones. She died in New York. Sadly, Sarah is hardly remembered now. But our Madame C.J. Walker was truly a very important person!

Invention Introduction
Hey, now you can learn about Madame C.J. Walker’s famous invention. The most famous invention is Madame C.J. Walker’s Wonderful hair grower. Now, its time to learn about it!

The Problem
There was a huge problem, all the black women were losing their hair! The black women were getting very upset. They were mad that their hair was falling out because of the hair products they were using. They had to use a special oil o their hair, the oil made their scalps sting and seemed to make their hair fall out even more! Their hair looked so frizzy and did not look pretty at all! Good thing Madame C.J. Walker was working on her new shampoo!

How the Invention Works
Madame C.J. Walker’s shampoo is know as “The Vegetable Shampoo”. This product is very smooth and helps to take out the tangles! Madame C.J. Walker’s special oils, unlike the other hair oils that were around. Her’s didn’t sting. The ingredients are secret.

Impact
After Madame C.J. Walker invented her wonderful hair grower, things changed. After that, women got more rights! Many people were inspired because of the invention. Black women had healthier hair. Women’s hair stopped falling out, it made them happy! People probably smiled they were so happy.

How Hair Products Have Changed
Madame C.J. Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower has changed over time. If you look online, her original products are still for sale. They are not as good, as are improved shampoos are though. Now, we don’t have the same ingredients as Madame C.J. Walker did. Women’s hair is improved. Now, there is no hair loss.

Conclusion
After all this, you should know tons of facts about Madame C.J. Walker. Her life and invention are so interesting! Madame C.J. Walker was an amazing inventor, she made a very important invention. Have you ever wanted to be an inventor like Madame C.J. Walker?

P.S. What is Madame C.J. Walker’s first husband’s name? If you don’t know, read it again.