Question of the Day [Women’s History Month]: How did Madam C.J. Walker become one of the first self-made female millionaires?

She turned $1.50 into a million-dollar empire. Can you guess how?

Answer: 

By developing and selling hair care products for Black women

Questions:

• Madam C.J. Walker built her brand through word of mouth and door-to-door sales. How do you think she would market her products today?
• Do you think it’s easier or harder to become a self-made millionaire today than in her time?
• Walker’s beauty products filled a gap in the market that no one else had addressed. What is a product or service today that still needs to be created?

Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (National Women’s History Museum): 

Struggling financially, facing hair loss, and feeling the strain of years of physical labor, Walker’s life took a dramatic turn in 1904. That year, she not only began using African American businesswoman Annie Turbo Malone’s “The Great Wonderful Hair Grower,” but she also joined Malone’s team of black women sales agents. A year later, Walker moved to Denver, Colorado, where she married ad-man Charles Joseph Walker, renamed herself “Madam C.J. Walker,” and with $1.25, launched her own line of hair products and straighteners for African American women, “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.”

About
the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master’s degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.

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