This TV series was a disappointment, which is a shame because Walker, a 19thC self-made, African American millionaire, is such an interesting character.
Born in 1867 on a plantation in Louisiana, Walker was the only one of her parents’ numerous children who was born free. Walker married three times; her third husband was Charles Joseph Walker. She had one child, a daughter from her first marriage, who worked with her in the business.
With no formal education, Walker worked a variety of menial jobs until she found a job as a commissioned saleswoman for Annie Malone, an African American hair care entrepreneur. While working for Malone, Walker began to develop her own line of hair care products for the black community which eventually became the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Co.
At her death in 1919, Walker employed several thousand door-to-door saleswomen and owned a factory in Indianapolis.
This four part series is based on a biography of Walker, On Her Own Ground, written by her great-great-grand-daughter, A’Lelia Bundles.
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