Madam C.J. Walker - Heroine, Conqueror

I've often wondered at how different a world it would be if all or even most of us were to trample

the obstacles, real or perceived, and exploit our full potential as innovators. It's possible that

mankind is decades behind where we could be socially, technologically or spiritually, because so

many of us have been guilty of not pulling our weight even as we rationalize the reasons for our

deficits. I'll concede that there might be merit in the theory that things are perhaps the way

they ought to be, that the disc-jockey, the astronomer, the milkman, the street urchin, are

fulfilling their destinies, are fulfilling an integral part in maintaining the order of things. But

everyone loves a heroine, the unlikely figure who arms herself for the fight against ancient foes

and emerges triumphant. Such a figure is Madam C.J. Walker.


Born Sarah Breedlove in 1987, Madam Walker accomplished the improbable in her mere 51

years of life. She was employed in the cotton fields of Louisiana at age five, a child bride who

married age age fourteen, bore her daughter at age 17, and was a widow by the time she was

just nineteen years of age. She was born to slaves and lived in poverty, in a society that was

hostile to non-whites such as herself. American in her day was a country where ignoring posted

"Whites Only" signs could result in death and lynching for perceived infractions was the order of

the day. No mention is made of her having had any formal education, yet, she died a corporate

mogul, and America's first self-made woman millionaire.

Madam Walker earned her millions as a result of a formula that's often taught in business

schools, that the key to launching a successful product or service is to identify a need, then meet

it. While a washerwoman, she'd begun thinking of a beauty treatment for her thinning hair. With

no background as a chemist or even a cosmetologist, she simply experimented with a formula

that had come to her in a dream until she landed upon a mixture of natural products that had a

tremendously resorative and beautifying effect on her hair. Savvy enough to realize the

potential impact of her discovery and that a huge market for it existed, she determined that

she'd market her product. She built an industry on this product and became a landowner,

employer and philanthropist.


Underscoring the several roles she developed for herself was a quality of fearlessness, and of

vision. When her ex-husband thought that minor success was sufficient, Madam Walker realized

bigger ambitions and started a mail-order arm of the business, launched a formidable national

sales team including women across a broad swath of backgrounds, and taught them how to run

their own successful businesses which would expand her market. She opened a factory, salons

and a training school. She broke ground for a building to occupy a city block to house a theatre

and cultural center that would be an oasis where blacks could feel welcome. She relocated her

business to Colorado, New York and Indianapolis as it seemed prudent. She was a woman of

action if ever there was one.


The fruits of Madam C.J. Walker's victorious conquests still exist today. Her products are still

being manufactured. Also, the Madam Walker Theatre Center building named for her still exists

and operates in Indianapolis today as a cultural and recreational facility. She not only changed

the apparent course of her own life but also impacted the lives of several employees and

associates and most certainly, their future generations. If only her drive and vision could be

bottled and made available as was her brainchild hair care product. But she evidenced the worth

of striving for accomplishment despite even tremendous odds. She defied the stereotypes and

even dangers posed for African-Americans of her time and laid a blueprint for success that

transcends race, gender or socio-economic background. She's my concept of a true heroine.



Sources:
http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/timex/1916.html
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/walker/walker.htm
http://www.walkertheatre.com/facts.htm
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/walker/WAfacts1.htm