She is the first woman to become a millionaire in 1917, in an archaic and racist American society.
This extraordinary woman is Sarah Breedlove, better known as Madam CJ Walker.
Her destiny is all the more incredible as fate has been hounding her from the first years of her life.
- At 5, she works in the cotton fields with her parents
- At 7, she becomes an orphan
- At 14, she gets married, as society dictates
- At 16, she gave birth to her daughter A'Lelia, in 1885
- At 20, she becomes a widow.
What was the trigger for his new life?
Certainly not a lucky star or a little fairy who leaned over her crib at birth.
No.
It is his baldness that will lead him to create a revolutionary product that will change the lives of black women of his time: the "Wonderful Hair Grower".
This is where his entrepreneurial destiny begins:
- She creates her first hair salon
- She goes door to door to sell her product
- In 2 years, her success exceeds her
- She must therefore recruit women to be able to sell her product throughout the country.
- In 1917, more than 20,000 women worked for the Madam CJ Walker Company.
His activity is obviously more than a business.
It is a plea for the economic emancipation of women.
She moved to Indianapolis and created:
- Factory
- Hairdresser
- School
- A laboratory.
She is also very active politically and economically in defending the rights of women and African-Americans.
She died in 1919, at the age of 51.
His wealth is then estimated at around one million dollars.
If there are people who command respect, Madam CJ Walker is undoubtedly one of them.
Let's be honest, who knew this extraordinary woman?
She is the first woman to become a millionaire in the United States.
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