GREAT AMERICANS IN HISTORY

Madam Walker's Background
Madam C.J. Walker's real name was Sarah Breedlove. Madam C. J. Walker was born on December 23, 1867. The fifth of Owen and Minerva Anderson Breedlove's six children, she was the first Breedlove child born after the end of slavery. She died at age 51 on May 25, 1919. Madam Walker had five siblings including one sister, Louvenia, and four brothers, Owen Jr., Alexander, James, and Solomon.

The Walker Theatre
The Madam Walker Theatre Center is internationally known as a place where arts and cultural heritage flourish. The Center operates with a mission dedicated to nurturing and celebrating the arts from an African-American perspective for cross-cultural appreciation. Constructed in 1927, the Madam Walker Theatre Center is a National Historic Landmark built in tribute to its namesake, Madam C.J. Walker.

Madam C.J. Walker's Accomplishments
During the 1890s, Sarah began to suffer from a scalp ailment that caused her to lose most of her hair. She experimented with many homemade remedies and store-bought products including those made by Annie Malone, another black woman entrepreneur. After changing her name to "Madam" C. J. Walker, she founded her own business and began selling Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula, which she claimed had been revealed to her in a dream. Madam Walker, by the way, did NOT invent the straightening comb, though many people incorrectly believe that to be true.