An Inspiration to All : Madam C. J. Walker

Madam C. J. Walker—the first Black woman millionaire in America.

Reached her dream by working tremendously hard; she never stopped believing in herself. She had a very hard childhood and had to move out due to her abusive brother-in-law. Her journey began as a laundress and a cook when she moved to Louisiana for a way out of poverty. Coming across Annie Turnbo’s hair grower product and seeing it as an opportunity to make money, Walker was confident as her hair grew that she could sell Turnbo’s products. But Turnbo was not supportive of this.

Soon she realised that it was because of the way she looked that Turnbo didn’t want her to sell her products, fearing she would harm the product rather than promote it. Fearless Walker didn’t let this stop her; she used personal anecdotes to promote Turnbo’s product. Turnbo was not appreciative of the money Walker made through her products. In return, Turnbo warned her not to sell her products, or there would be consequences.

Walker then began her own hair grower and soon she became a success!

Her road to success was not an easy journey, especially because she was an African American woman starting her own company. Whether it was health issues, discriminatory behavior against her or accidents in the factory with her products, Walker overcame every single obstacle and made herself a very significant place in history. She is now an inspiration to people alike, including myself.

s a woman of color like Walker, I relate to her journey of being discriminated against. It would result in me lacking self-confidence, thinking I look different than people around me. This is a very common issue/feeling in many teenagers nowadays, mainly because of the “ideal” beauty standard in society. Take many famous brands as an example.

They use skinny, tall, white females to show what beauty is implying that if you are otherwise, then you are not beautiful. A barbie doll is what many girls grow up playing with, and most barbies are also skinny, tall, and white. Many colored females struggle to find toys that resemble themselves; hence they think that they are different and unwanted. Walker felt that sense of being unwanted, but she managed to still have the confidence to translate that feeling into motivation for her business and didn’t want other women feeling the same.

Walker stated, “Let me correct the erroneous impression held by some that I claim to straighten hair, I deplore such an impression because I have always held myself out as a hair culturist. I grow hair.”

Perhaps that’s what made her products sell because makeup or many hair products are marketed to change your appearance to look skinnier or to hide your unique features to society’s standard. As a person who has struggled with her appearance, learning about C.J. Walker has made me more confident. In the past, I would always hide my curly hair and straighten my hair constantly because that is what the world around me was showing and (to my understanding) prefer.

Walker was a symbol of women's empowerment and an inspiration for many colored women. In a white male-dominated society, she thrived and showed what the American Dream used to be about. She overcame many challenges and said,

“There is no royal flower strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for whatever success I have attained has been the result of much hard work and many sleepless nights.”

This goes to show her dedication and her hard work to become the first Black woman millionaire in America and an icon for women's entrepreneurship.

She didn’t let money change herself and was always connected to her roots and since I have been away from my home country I want to stay authentic to my roots as she has. Truly an inspiration, I am now learning to be more confident in myself and to love my body the way it is. I am letting my natural hair show and I am hoping to one day be a role model to others, too, like Walker is to me.