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Women’s HistoryMonth Madam C.J. Walker and Barbara Armwood
Women’s HistoryMonth
Madam C.J. Walker and Barbara Armwood
By Logan McCrae, Junior Richard Wright Public Charter Schools
Madam C.J. Walker 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 was originally born as Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867, in Delta, Louisiana, one of six children of Owen and Minerva Anderson Breedlove, former slaves turned sharecroppers after the Civil War. Orphaned at seven, Walker mostly lived with her older sister Louvenia, and both worked in cotton fields.
While Walker was seeking a way out of poverty, in 1889, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where her four brothers were barbers. She worked as a laundress and cook. Later, she joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she met many black men and women whose education and success inspired her. In 1894, she married John Davis, but the couple later divorced because of troubles in their marriage, at a moment when she was struggling, dealing with hair loss, and experiencing years of physical labor.
In 1904, she began using African American businesswoman Annie Turbo Malone’s “The Great Wonderful Hair Grower,” she joined Malone’s team of black women sales agents. One 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 line of hair products and straighteners for African American women, “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.”
After Walker and her new husband divorced in 1910, she relocated to Indianapolis and built a factory for her Walker Manufacturing Company. She eventually opened training pro grams in the “Walker System” for her national network of licensed sales agents who earned healthy commissions. Ultimately, Walker em ployed 40,000 African American women and men in the US, Central America, and the Ca ribbean. She also founded the National Ne gro Cosmetics Manufacturers Association in 1917. Walker’s business grew rapidly, with sales exceeding $500,000 in the final year of her life. Her total worth topped 1 million dol lars, including a mansion in Irvington, New York, dubbed “Villa Lewaro,” and properties in Harlem, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.
As her wealth increased, so did her philanthropic and political outreach. Walker contributed to the YMCA, covered tuition for six African American students at Tuskegee Institute, and became active in the anti-lynching movement, donating $5,000 to the NAACP’s efforts. Just before dying of kidney failure, Walker revised her will, bequeathing two-thirds of future net profits to charity, as well as thousands of dollars to various individuals and schools.
By Jamari Tyree, Junior, Richard Wright Public Charter Schools
Barbra Armwood who was born on May 11, 1947, in Washington DC, attended River Terrace Elementary School, Carter G Woodson Junior High School, and Eastern High School.
Barbra worked as a crossing guard for almost three decades, guaranteeing children’s safety but also leaving a mark on the community with her care and dedication. Reflecting on her path, she remembers her time managing the Ridge Road Summer Youth Program and her involvement at the JC Nalle computer program.
Family is the foundation of Barbra’s life, and it has been instilled in her since she was very young and increased as a mother of 7 children. Her unshakeable faith has been a guiding light, defining her path and anchoring her through life’s ups and downs. Barbra was a witness to history when she stood on the National Mall and saw Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his historic address, an experience she will never forget.
Her childhood was marked by the reality of segregation and prejudice, a legacy she bears with dignity and determination. Barbra recalls a time when communities were divided, schools were segregated, and opportunities were limited, reflecting a generation’s hardships and successes. “Your neighbors could correct you,” she stated, highlighting a community bound by care and accountability.
Barbra’s childhood memories include dances, May Day celebrations, and the Safety Patrol Program, where she learned principles of service and responsibility. Her neighborhood, which was once an atmosphere of safety and unity, maintains a unique place in her heart as a reminder of an earlier time that she cherishes. Embracing the “old school way of life,” Barbra finds peace in simplicity and connection, enjoying a life spent outdoors and with loved ones.
There are traces of a past time when community, family, and faith served as the cornerstones of life in Barbra’s story. Let’s recognize the history of women like Barbra Armwood, whose life demonstrates the simplicity, courage, and resilience of those who paved the way for later generations, as we commemorate Women’s History Month.
