One of the values that Americans, past and present, have highly esteemed is opportunity. We find patriotic pride in the fact that we live in a “land of opportunity”. However, this is not just ethnocentric patriotism and uber-American propaganda. A study of history reveals that the United States really is a land of opportunity. Whether we read the story of Andrew Carnegie or Andrew Jackson, we realize that any American can make a difference if they work hard and combine innovation with constructive values. One shining example of this is the story of Madam C.J. Walker, a sadly neglected figure of history who should, nonetheless, provide an inspiration to those who read her story.
Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana in 1867. Her parents were former slaves and she had the great privilege of being the first person in her family to be born into freedom. Orphaned at six, married at fourteen and widowed with a daughter at twenty, Sarah’s story looked like the story of many poor, young African-American women in the late 19th century. However, after moving to St. Louis, things began to change and Sarah’s story began to brighten. She began to learn, from her barber brothers, about hair care. She worked with the African-American hair care specialist Annie Malone for some time and after learning much from Annie, moved to Denver, remarried and created her own hair care products. Her husband’s name was Charles Joseph Walker and from then on, Sarah Breedlove become known as “Madam C.J. Walker.”
Leaving her daughter A’Lelia in charge of the mail order business in Denver, Madam Walker toured the United States, expanding her business. Business was booming and the poor, female, African-American orphan-widow had been transformed into an influential businesswoman who was mentoring other African-American women and was blossoming into a generous philanthropist.
Madam Walker used her business influence in the African-American community to champion social and political causes. Beyond mentoring African-American women to be more entrepreneurial and self-sufficient, she passionately pursued political and social equality for all African-Americans. She put her money towards causes that sought to end lynchings and violent race riots.
Madam Walker died in 1919 at her customized home in an elite New York neighborhood. Far from her Louisiana birthplace, Madam Walker had become America’s first female self-made millionaire and had set an outstanding example of the power of American entrepreneurship and opportunity. Born two years after the end of th Civil War, this amazing woman demonstrated that hard work and constructive values can take the most unlikely pilgrim on an unfathomable journey.