Madame C.J.  Walker was born December 23, 1867, in Delta, Louisiana. Her parents were former slaves and they died when she was a little girl. She was forced to live with her sister. Her sister’s husband abused her so she ran away from home and was marreid at age 14. Because of her impoverished background she only had a limited formal education.  Walker was a cook and when her daughter Leila was born she was a washerwomen. She had one daughter. Her husband was murdered by a white mob.  Later she met Charles Joseph Walker. They were married on January 4, 1906.

     Madame CJ Walker began to lose her hair.  She invented hair products for black women. They were used to straighten black hair and help women from losing hair.  Using ointments, soaps and a medicinal sulfur she tested her product on her friends. She invented them in 1872 at her house in a washtub. When she found her product successful she went door to door selling her products with her husband. She made more then a million dollars. She advertised her product in black newspapers throughout the United States. Madame Walker died on May 25, 1919. of chronic interstitial nephritis kidney failure.  She was a role model for both black and white women.