Sarah Breedlove: Madam C. J. Walker

At such a young age Madam C.J. Walker (known by the name Sarah Breedlove at this time) already showed great confidence and dignity in herself. One of her most known quotes is “I got my start by giving myself a start” was one of them. Her independence and self- subsistence helped shape her life. Those qualities aided her into making history and make her known by all of us today.
On December 23, 1867 Sarah Breedlove was born to two former slaves, Owen and Minerva . She was their fifth child and the only one born free . Her mother and father died while Sarah was still a young child and was soon orphaned at the age of seven . A few years after her parents death , she moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi with her sister and brother in law. She picked

cotton and did other basic household chores.When she turned fourteen she married Moses Mcwilliam to escape the abuse of her brother and law. On June 6,1885 she gave birth to her daughter Lelia . After two years of marriage her husband tragically died ,making her widow and single mother at the age of twenty. This forced her to move to St.Louis, she found work as a laundress and made one dollar and fifty cents a day. Enough to send her daughter to public school. While in St.Louis she met her third husband Charles J walker after a few failed marriages. He introduced her to the advertisement business.
Although she was a very confident woman she was self conscious about her hair. She prayed to God and made concoctions to help fix the problem.. She had a “revelation and says god answered her prayer and told her the ingredients she would need to form her concoction. She realized it helped her it would also help many other african american woman who faced the same problem as her .
Madam cj walker is most known for being the first woman to become a millionaire and be able to run a successful hairline. While her and her husband were married he helped her create advertisements for hair care among african american woman. He also encouraged her to change her name into “madam cj walker” which she was known by that name thereafter.She was so dedicated to her work her and her husband traveled the south and southeast to promote her product to other african americans who suffered from the same problems as her.
In conclusion, Madam CJ walker had a drive and personal connection to making the “wonderful hair grower”. She could understand the pain and suffering of other african american woman at the time because she had to face hair loss also. As result, her compassion with her hair product enabled her to her create her own company. She helped woman be more confident in themselves and affected society.