Support Village Voice News With a Donation of Your Choice.
Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919) was the first African American woman to become a self-made millionaire after creating a line of hair products geared toward Black hair. (She created the first, Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, in 1905.) A Netflix series based upon her life, Self Made, premiered in March 2020.
She was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist who rose from poverty in the South to become one of the wealthiest African American women of her time. She used her position to advocate for the advancement of black Americans and for an end to lynching. (Oprahdaily and women history)
