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Sarah Breedlove was born in Delta, Louisiana. Her parents, Owen and Minerva were sharecroppers. She had one older sister and four older brothers. All of them, including her parents, were slaves on the Madison Parish plantation. Sarah was born after the Emancipation Proclamation and was free.
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Sarah’s mother passed away when Sarah was only five. She died from cholera and her father remarried, but died shortly after.
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Sarah and her sister, Louvenia, move to Vicksburg, Missouri. Louvenia also brings along her husband, Jesse Powell.
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After her parents’ deaths, Sarah lived with her oldest sister. She met and Married Moses McWilliams at the age of fourteen to escape abuse by her brother-in-law.
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Lelia McWilliams (A’Lelia Walker) was born to Moses and Sarah
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When Sarah was twenty and her daughter was only two, Moses died. Sarah and her daughter moved to St. Louis where three of her brothers lived and worked as barbers. Sarah got a job as a wash person, earning a dollar a day so her daughter could get an education.
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Sarah began to experience hair loss, which made her interested in hair care and products. She became a commissioned agent for Annie Malone, an African hair care entrepreneur.
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During this year Sarah moved to Denver, Colorado. She worked as a hair care sales representative for Annie Malone. Also during this time, Sarah came up with a method of straightening African-American hair.
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Sarah married Charles Joseph Walker, who taught her about advertising and promotion. Sarah left her daughter in charge of the mail-order business while she and her husband traveled the U.S. to expand the business.
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During this year Madam C.J. Walker moved to Pittsburgh and opened Lelia College. She had her daughter, Lelia, manages it, and also had a factory to make all of her products.
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This year she moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to start headquarters for her hair products.
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Sarah held the first conference of the Madam Walker Beauty Culturists in Philadelphia. There, she stressed the significance of philanthropy and political activism. Sarah was more than a beauty consultant.
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She commissioned the first licensed black architect in New York to design her Hudson home. The house cost $250,000.
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After joining the organization, Sarah was acknowledged for making the largest contribution to save the Anacostia, the house of Frederick Douglass.
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Madam Walker pledged $50,000 to the organization anti-lynching fund.
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Sarah left 2/3 of future net profits and her estate to charity.
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Madam Walker died from complications of hypertension. She was 51 and the wealthiest African-American woman in America. Madam CJ Walker was more than a beauty consultant. She was a philanthropist and an activist as well.