Madam C. J.Walker died on this day at the age of 51 in 1919. Upon her death she was considered to be the wealthiest black woman in America and known to be the first African-American woman millionaire. Some sources cite her as the first self-made American woman millionaire. Her daughter Lelia succeeded her as president of the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company.
“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations….I have built my own factory on my own ground.”
-Madam Walker, National Negro Business League Convention, July 1912
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