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Madam CJ Walker was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist living from 1867 to 1919. She is the first self-made American female millionaire and the wealthiest African American woman of her time, making her fortune by inventing and selling a line of African-American hair products and cosmetics. Walker’s philosophy of “cleanliness and loveliness” was a means of advancing the status of African Americans, in particular women.

Madam CJ Walker and her daughter A’Lelia Walker immersed themselves socially, civically, politically, and culturally in the Harlem Renaissance. Madam Walker founded philanthropies that included educational scholarships and donations to homes for the elderly, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the National Conference on Lynching, among other organizations focused on improving the lives of African Americans.

Learn more at the official website of Madam C.J. Walker maintained by Walker's biographer and great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles, Trustee and Vice Chair of the Board of Columbia University.