Featured Entrepreneur: Madam C.J. Walker

Few stories capture the power of Black entrepreneurship like that of Madam C.J. Walker — a woman born to formerly enslaved parents who built a beauty empire and became the first self-made female millionaire in America.

From Sarah Breedlove to Madam C.J. Walker

Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 in Louisiana, she was orphaned as a child and worked as a laundress to survive. After struggling with hair loss herself, she began developing her own scalp and hair care treatments — the start of what would become a revolutionary business.

Building an Empire

Walker built her company around the “Walker System” of hair care and her signature product, “Madam C.J. Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.” She traveled across the South and beyond, selling door-to-door and giving demonstrations in churches and homes. Rather than keep the opportunity to herself, she trained thousands of women as “Walker agents,” who sold her products in their own communities across the United States, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Lifting As She Climbed

Walker insisted her success lift others. Her company’s charter stipulated that only a woman could serve as president. She gave generously to education and Black institutions — funding scholarships at the Tuskegee Institute and donating to the NAACP, the Black YMCA, and dozens of other organizations.

Her Legacy

Madam C.J. Walker died in 1919, but her blueprint endures: build a great product, create opportunity for others, and reinvest in your community. More than a century later, that same spirit drives Black-owned brands today.

Discover Black-owned brands carrying that legacy forward in our online directory.