Sarah Breedlove

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Sarah Breedlove

• In the 1800s not many African Americans were
  considered wealthy. Sarah Breedlove (also known
  as Madam C.J. Walker) was an exception. Her
  skills at advertising her hair product allowed
  her to become the first female African American
  millionaire. Breedlove used her wealth to
  support African Americans in her community. How
  did she influence America?

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In the 1800s, advertising became an important
part of American consumer life. Industrialization
had made it possible to distribute printed
materials more efficiently. More people also had
extra money to spend, so advertisements became an
important way for people to see new products and
trends in society. People who effectively used
this new form of promotion often succeeded in
business. One such person was an African-American
woman named Sarah Breedlove, better known as
Madame C.J. Walker. Her hair tonic became popular
among African-American women around the turn of
the century and she became the first
African-American female millionaire. Her success
was an important symbol, showing the possibility
of success and hope for change even though many
African-Americans were still being denied basic
rights. Unknown. (n.d.). Madame C.J.
Walker. Library of Congress American
Memory, African American Odyssey.
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Madame C.J. Walker was one of the wealthiest
African-Americans of her time. She used her
wealth to purchase this house along the Hudson
River, at a time when many African-Americans were
struggling against economic, social and political
discrimination. Historic American Buildings
Survey. (1987). Madame C. J. Walker's House
(Villa Lewaro). Irvington-on-the-Hudson, New
York, ca. 1987. Library of Congress American
Memory, African American Odyssey.
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This is an advertisement for one of Madame C.J.
Walkers products. Many of her beauty products
for African-American women were actually designed
to bleach and straighten hair or lighten skin
complexions, in other words, to make an
African-American woman look more like the
European-American ideal of beauty. So, although
the success of these products led to Walkers
personal fortune, they also reflected the racism
of the time. Fortune Peterson. (1920). Madam
C.J. Walker - Preparations. Library of
Congress Prints Photographs.
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Walker donated a lot of her money to the
African-American community. She was a strong
supporter of Booker T. Washington, pictured here,
and his Tuskegee Institute. She also supported
more radical figures like Marcus Garvey.
Unknown. (ca. 1890). Booker T. Washington
(three-quarter length portrait, seated and facing
slightly left, holding newspaper). Library of
Congress American Memory, African American
Odyssey.
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While Walker used the emerging advertising
industry to earn a great fortune, no single
person made such good use of the growing power of
advertising as P.T. Barnum. Barnum first began
advertising his sideshow tours of illustrious
Americans and his American Museum in New York
City in the mid 1800s. Later, he created the
Barnum Circus. His circus shows were some of the
first products to use color posters, like this
one, for advertisements. They changed the way
America looked at entertainment. Unknown.
(1879). Poster of the Barnum and Bailey Great
London Circus. Library of Congress Exhibitions, J
ohn Bull Uncle Sam Four Centuries of
British-American Relations .