Madam Cj Walker

Background

Known today as Madam CJ Walker that was not the name she was given on December 23, 1867. Sarah was orphaned at the young age of seven and was able to survive by working in the cotton fields of Delta and Mississippi. In an attempt to escape abuse from her sisters, (Louvenia sisters name) husband she married at the age of 14 (married Moses McWilliams). She has one daughter names Lelia, currently known as A’Lelia Walker.

Creation

During the 1890’s Walker suffered from a scalp ailment that caused her to lose most of her hair. To solve this problem Walker experimented with homemade remedies, including those made by Annie Malone (another black woman entrepreneur) who in 1905 Walker was a sales representative for. In 1905, Walker moved to Denver and married her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker; this is where she changed her name to Madam CJ Walker. After changing her name, she founded her own business and began selling “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower” which was a scalp conditioning and healing formula. Walker claims that the recipe to this formula came to her in a dream.

Promotion

Madam CJ Walker traveled a year and a half to promote her product through the heavily populated black South and Southeast going door to door. Unlike most door sales representatives today, Walker actually gave demonstrations of her scalp treatment everywhere. In 1908, she temporarily moved her base to Pittsburgh where she opened Lelia College to train Walker “hair culturist” which is a group of women.

Factory

According to www.cr.np.com in February 1910, Walker visited Indianapolis and was very impressed with what she saw. The city had become the country’s largest inland manufacturing center because of its access to eight major railway systems. This would be an asset for mail-order business. This is where she built the famous Madame Walker Theatre, which included a hair and manicure salon, and also another training school. (Blueprint of beauty salon and picture of collage). In 1913, while Walker promoted her business to Central America and the Caribbean her daughter A’ Lelia moved into a new Harlem Townhouse and Walker salon designed by a black architect Vertner Tandy.

Business Life

As Walkers business continued to grow rapidly, which soon had over 5000 agents and made over $7,000 per week she organized her agents onto local and state clubs. Her Madam CJ Walker Hair Culturist Union of America convention in Philadelphia 1917 must have been on of the first national meeting of businesswomen in the country. She used this gathering to thank everyone for and reward her agents but also to encourage people and their political activism.

Walkers Death

Walker left one unfulfilled dream when she died at the age of 51 in 1919. This dream grew out of an experience that made her furious. After being in Indianapolis for a couple of years and starting her business, she went to the Isis Movie Theater and gave the ticket seller a dime, which was the standard admission at the time. However, the ticket seller pushed the dime back and said the price had gone up 25 cents but only for “colored people.” According to my tour guide, Walker paid him only 10 cents and said when I have my own theatre I will charge you extra but only on “My Own Ground. (book title). After this, Walker asked an architect to draw up plans for a lot that she owned a lot from her house, which is located at 617 Indiana Avenue (map quest). She wanted the building to serve as a social and cultural center for the African-American community. Although, Madam Walker died before the theatre was able to be built her daughter A’Lelia Bundles built the theatre in memory of her and her dream.

Overview of Theatre

The Madame Walker Theatre Center is internationally known as a place of arts, and overflowing with culture. The Walker Theatre operates with a mission to nurture and celebrate the arts from an African-American perspective for cross-cultural appreciation.

Construction

The theatre was constructed and opened for blacks