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Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker

A'Lelia Perry Bundles (Goodreads Author)

3.46 · Rating details · 4,355 ratings · 92 reviews

Oprah Winfrey is renowned for her media savvy, marketing sense, philanthropic efforts, and accumulated wealth (and the power that accompanies it). She's earned her rep, of course, and her path to stardom and influence couldn't have been easy. Imagine, then, how difficult it must have been a century ago for Madam C. J. Walker, America's first female African-American million ...more

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Published March 2020 (first published 2001)

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Aug 22, 2019 Richard Derus marked it as to-read · review of another edition

A 2020 Netflix limited series will star Bill Bellamy, Octavia Spencer, Blair Underwood and more starpower!

This is excellent news. ...more

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Jul 31, 2015 Dana rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Written by Madam C.J. Walker's great, great granddaughter, the book was well-researched and thorough. The negative for me was that it read like a textbook and was too dry. Madam C.J.'s accomplishments as one of our country's first African American entrepreneurs were stellar, especially considering it was the very early part of the 20th century. I only wish that the book was more interesting....Madam C.J. deserved it. 2.5/5 ...more

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Jul 18, 2014 Regina Lindsey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies-about-women-by-women, shelfari-prejudice, business-black-women-boigraphy-hair, business-leaders, prejudice, shelfari-biography, women-african-american, shelfari-business-leaders, shelfari-history, favorites

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by Alelia Perry Bundles
5 Stars and a heart

When I came across this passage in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book I captured it as a favorite quote because it resonated with me in terms of my reading habits. "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressi On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by Alelia Perry Bundles
5 Stars and a heart

When I came across this passage in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book I captured it as a favorite quote because it resonated with me in terms of my reading habits. "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive-all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment." In a recent read on Theodore Roosevelt I realized I knew very little about Booker T. Washington. I had made some assumptions about him and was shocked to learn of his conciliatory politics. So, I did a little research. In doing so I came across a reference to Madam C.J. Walker, whom I had never heard of before. The reference touted her as the first self-made female millionaire in the U.S. The reason this caught my attention was that she was an African – American woman born in the late 19th century. So, I wanted to know more. The only work I could find on her was a biography written by her great-great granddaughter. I admit, I was a bit skeptical. Even though Bundles is a journalist, I was afraid the work would be idolization than objective. While there are times Bundles makes some assumptions that an historian would not and takes liberty imagining some scenarios rather than reporting, overall the work is well-done highlighting her ancestor’s accomplishments, analyzing her shortcomings, embracing controversies surrounding Madam Walker and her company, and setting the record straight and well-meaning myths. For instance, while Madam Walker was incredibly wealthy and successful it is unlikely she technically attained the status of millionaire.

Sarah Breedlove was the first child born to recently freed parents under the Emancipation Proclamation. Born in 1867, in Delta, MS she was orphaned at age seven and sent to live with her volatile brother in law and sister. Sarah’s life was fraught with challenges. To escape the abusive environment she married early and was widowed by the age of twenty. Going onto a subsequent abusive marriage she winds up on her own with a daughter to raise. With a steely determination, Sarah’s singular objective in life was to provide a better up bring for her daughter than the one she experienced. She knew she couldn’t do that by holding the traditional jobs held by African-American women of the time. Believing that a smartly groomed appearance was key to upward mobility, she used the challenges she faced with hair loss to develop a system that would educate African-American women on the causes of hair loss and products to help grow hair. This was the impetus for the start of a company in 1906 that would start locally, grow nationally, and become an international success. While she may have never technically reached the millionaire status in her lifetime, she was incredibly wealthy earning and successful. She moved into the affluent neighborhood of Irvington-on-the-Hudson constructing a 34-room mansion complete with maids, cooks, and butlers. She counted John D. Rockefeller and John Gould as neighbors as well as the Astor’s, the Tiffany’s, and the Vanderbilt’s. Her earnings in 1918 were equivalent to $3M in today’s currency. Not only did she acquire wealth personally, but she provided an avenue for countless other African – American women to become financially independent. Further, she became active in both political and civil realms. She was the first to organize female entrepreneurs in a manner to assert their political will. She leant her name and money to causes such as anti-lynching campaigns, the formation of the NAACP, the YMCA, Tuskegee Institute, war-time efforts, and education in Africa. She lead by example and expected her sales team to follow suit.

But, the book is more than her business success. There are some fascinating sociology explorations as well. The discussion on the perception of beauty was actually quite interesting. In addition to learning more about Madam Walker, the reader gets a better understanding of the founders of what would become the Civil Rights Movement (both the well-known figures and obscure ones) as well as insight into the vying for power within the movement. There are some intriguing parallels between the Booker T. Washington/ D.E.B Du Bois relationship and the Martin Luther King/Malcom X one. For me personally, because of my line of work, it was fascinating to see an uneducated woman of this time intuitively use the modern day business model to build an empire that would last until 1985.

I would recommend this book to anyone but especially to anyone that enjoys a strong female character or likes to root for the underdog.
...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Dianne rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: readers interested in history

Recommended to Dianne by: read for Harris library book club

Shelves: biography

I appreciated reading about a woman who made such a huge impact on the beauty industry as well as learning more about Madam C.J. Walker's innovative business philosophy, her strong desire to make a charitable impact, and her efforts to support racial equality. There is no question that she was an amazing woman. Where I appreciated learning about her set against the background of the social and cultural times, there was way more information in the book than I could digest. ...more

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Mar 23, 2020 Lois rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: african-diaspora-interest, african-american-historical, non-fiction, biography, black-books, historical, books-i-own-digital-copy, books-i-read-in-2020, slavery-non-fiction, person-of-color-author

I LOVED this.
This is SO interesting!
The author gives so much period details and peripheral history.
Beautifully done!
I'm off to watch the show at last:) ...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Dawn Lennon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

It's startling finally to discover important business and social leaders who have made a big difference long forgotten. That's the case with Madam C.J. Walker, the most financially successful (actually serious wealthy) and notable black woman entrepreneur. On her own, she overcame abject poverty in the south in the late 1800s and years as a laundress after moving to the mid-West. Following, quite literally a dream, she came up with a formula to help black women grow hair routinely lost through a ...more

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Aug 31, 2020 Carol Irvin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Loved the mini series but the book reads like a textbook ...

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Aug 09, 2011 Lynell rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: those interested in African American history

Recommended to Lynell by: Harris Snack and Yak

Shelves: biography, history

Our group felt that this biography of Madam C.J. Walker, written by her great-great-granddaughter, was well written and extremely well researched. The readers admired Madam for her persistence in keeping her eyes on the goal, even to the detriment of her health. We appreciated learning more about the history of African Americans in politics and the role of African American soldiers in WWI. Many in our group felt bogged down by the wealth of information, some of which seemed to detract from the m ...more

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Mar 03, 2008 Melissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history-stuff

I first "met" Madam CJ Walker during my internship at the Women's Museum. We had a few of her cosmetics for display, and she just seemed like an amazing woman. The first African American millionaire, male or female, she created a cosmetics empire long before Mary Kay. This biography is written by her granddaughter, which is both a good and bad thing. She did an excellent job of setting the stage--Walker was definitely a part of the movers and shakers in Jim Crow America. That being said, it took ...more

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Mar 14, 2017 Julia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was an excellent biography of Madam CJ Walker. I was always really interested in her as a child and lately, in caring for my daughter's hair and establishing career goals, I've become even more interested in this inspiring self-starter. This is a great detailed account of her family life and how she became the inspiring individual that she was. Excellent book! ...more

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Dec 16, 2018 Diana rated it it was ok · review of another edition

long and rambling. Interesting facts, but wanders around a lot.

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Mar 23, 2020 Maya B rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

UPDATE

I really enjoyed the netflix original series.

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Apr 11, 2020 Elizabeth Higginbotham rated it really liked it

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A’Lelia Bundles take a long look at an amazing Black woman. While she was never a millionaire, she was very wealthy and used her money both wisely and the indulge in all she lacked coming of age. Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867, she was born free but in a poor family and soon was orphaned and lived with siblings. Her parents had lived on the property in Louisiana what had once been a plantation. Yet, it was in disarray and her parents’ d On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A’Lelia Bundles take a long look at an amazing Black woman. While she was never a millionaire, she was very wealthy and used her money both wisely and the indulge in all she lacked coming of age. Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867, she was born free but in a poor family and soon was orphaned and lived with siblings. Her parents had lived on the property in Louisiana what had once been a plantation. Yet, it was in disarray and her parents’ death mean that family members split up. Yet, violence was also part of the fabric of the land as White southern wanted to restore the old south. You get a picture of what the end of Reconstruction means for the people at the bottom of the social structure.

Family was the only safety net, but Sarah’s was problematic since her brother in law expected her to work. That meant no investment in her education, leaving her to laundry and domestic work. Many family members exited the South since the violence and oppression are significant. Sarah marries to escape her brother in law’s home. The marriage to Moses McWilliams seemed good. She has one daughter, Lelia, but Moses dies in 1888, he could have been lynched, but there is no record. Sarah and daughter make their way to St. Louis. I’m learning that many people were drawn to that city.

The book presents the many migrations of the Black community as people searched for a place to live and earn a living. Sarah did laundry work in St. Louis, since this enabled her to watch her daughter. She also makes sure that Lelia is educated to the best of her abilities, which increases as she has her own business of growing hair and teaching Black women about hygiene and hair care.
The book documents the struggles, the snubs and the network that Sarah built around her. She is fighting not only racism and sexism.

Sarah was not as successful in marriages, as C.J. Walker, who was initially a supporter, but did not really share her vision and taken with other women. In the early days of developing hair care products, it was a tight market, with major producers not thinking about Black people as consumers. Yet, Madam C.J. Walker, as she renamed herself, is a pioneer, not only the production of products, but training people to use them and helping them set up beauty parlors where they used her products. She created employment options in the early 20th century when if Black women were not in agricultural work, they were domestics or laundry workers. She also helped them to gain skills to become financially independent, if not successful. The network of agents trained in Lelia Colleges around the nation and indeed the world is significant.

In establishing her business, Madam C.J. Walker moves around a to different parts of the country. I did not know she started in St. Louis. I knew about Indianapolis and New York, but was surprised that she also spent time in Pittsburgh and Denver. She moved from these places, but left enterprises. Indianapolis is the main site for production. In these days of Jim Crow, she also suffered many injustices in Jim Crow cars and other harassment.

Familiar with the violence and injustice that Black people faced; Madam C.J. Walker is also an advocate for change. As part of organizations of Black women, early civil rights groups, as well as Black business organizations, she advocated for change. She is one of the many in the pushes for justice, but also supporting Black troops in World War I and seeking an anti-lynching bill. Her position in these circles changes as she makes more money and is able to donate to important causes, like a YMCA for Black youth in St. Louis. She also spent money on luxuries for herself and indulged her daughter. However, you see that buying a car meant avoiding the indignities of Jim Crow treatment when she traveled.

The book does situate her historically, but I think knowing the history helps. The author is more committed to identifying all the people she knew and entertained and invited to events. Yet, we see how conventions were very important. These were vehicles for not only teaching the many agents about new development in products, but also inspiring them to get politically involved and to use their money to help Black women who were not doing as well. She modeled that behavior, lowering her prices to make sure that women were able to care for themselves and others. She followed the model of wealthy people who used their money to help others advance, like Julius Rosenwald.

Madam C.J. Walker dies in 1919, but knowing the end was near she left money to educational institutions, organizations, and charity groups as well as to her family and staff. Her daughter, who changed her name to A’Lelia, lacked the business skills, but was also challenged by the Depression. Yet, she was a critical part of the Harlem Renaissance. A’Lelia’s adopted daughter Mae, carries on the family tradition. After a lavish wedding to a prominent but unsuitable husband, Mae marries an attorney Marion Perry, Jr. The author’s mother, A’Lelia Mae Perry was born in 1928. The author had solid support to write this extensive look at the life of Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter A’Lelia. The book readily does paint a picture of the rugged years these crusaders and their comrades faced. ...more

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Nov 25, 2020 Cynda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: civil-rights, biography-or-memior, women, african-american, read-2020, business

Read in honor of the centennial of US Women's Suffrage. In The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, Elaine F. Weiss points out that women's professional work experience made possible their getting the vote. When the 19th Admendment was signed into law, some black women voted. So I have included in my study professional black women.

Earlier this year I watched the Netflix movie Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame C J Walker. After watching that show, I knew I would include Madame Read in honor of the centennial of US Women's Suffrage. In The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, Elaine F. Weiss points out that women's professional work experience made possible their getting the vote. When the 19th Admendment was signed into law, some black women voted. So I have included in my study professional black women.

Earlier this year I watched the Netflix movie Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame C J Walker. After watching that show, I knew I would include Madame in this study. I wanted to include a woman of color who sought her and other's beauty. While the idea of the ideal beauty of women of color of many ethnicities has changed, the seeking of one's own beauty has remained important.

But that story would be equivalent to any successful beauty entrepreneur. What makes Madame C J Walker's story beyond the common enough late-19th-century-to-early-20th-century business success story us her service work. Madame--before she was Madame--had already joined evangelical church groups which served the black community of St Louis. By the time Madame was approaching the end of her life, she had found that she could influence policy in the various civil rights and educational organizations she participated in. In following in a general way the practice of other entrepreneur-philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie who donated and determined policy, Madame C J Walker found herself able to get things done for people of color, things that touched her heart deeply, such as education, business/economic success, and veteran rights.

I am glad to have a read a book that did not just tell of Madame Walker but also her world. That extra information clued me in on things that I had not connected dots between. New Awarenesses:

1. The boll weevil infestation drove the The Great Migration into a fast forward now mode. This infestation remains a perennial problem to today.

2. The East St Louis Race Riot. I got an ethnocentric view of the riot. Liberal hearts are great hearts, but not often knowing ones.

3. The origins of those Communist spurs are not sourced from WWII as I thought but from WWI, seemingly encouraged by Woodrow Wilson. Eyes open.

This book contains Endnotes that do shed further light on topics discussed, not much, but decidedly more than usual.

I wish the Selected Bibliography were more extensive.

So worth rereading and pondering upon again.

...more

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Apr 01, 2020 Fieke rated it really liked it

I started reading this after watching the Netflix show. Therefore I think the Netflix series did very well on making me interested and making me want to find out more about Madam C.J. Walker. The Netflix show did change a bunch of things, mostly to have more drama in the show. I understand that for almost everything they did.
(view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 07, 2020 Mary Sisney rated it it was amazing

Readers who are expecting a history of black women’s hair or the beauty products business will be disappointed. This book focuses more on Madam Walker’s experiences as a wealthy socialite and a political activist than on the beauty business. It’s a very timely book because of what’s happening in our country now. In fact, it met this historical moment so well that I briefly thought Madam’s death in May, 1919 might be from the so-called Spanish flu, which was mentioned as she was gravely ill with ...more

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May 10, 2020 Dianne McMahan rated it liked it

From Rags to Riches

This is about a woman of color who made and sold hair products in the late 1800's.
She tried to let all woman of color realize a dream,that they could be more.
She died young and left a fortune to her daughter,who.went thru her mother's money ,before she too died at an early age.
I read this book.after watching the movie and found it not nearly as satisfying. ...more

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Apr 27, 2020 Fabulous Book Fiend rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I need to read this one before I watch the show!

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Apr 29, 2020 Marcie rated it liked it · review of another edition

My first introduction to Madame C.J. Walker was through the television show called Mysteries as the Museum. The host held up this small tin of hair product and told an interesting but pared-down story of Walker's rise to fame. Having never heard about Walker before, I was fascinated by her story, but also annoyed by the fact that I had never heard her story before. How can somebody that achieved so much be left out of history?

In recent years, however, more stories of well-deserved women are comi ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 Micah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I can only give it a 2.5. The story of Madam CJ Walker is incredibly fascinating given how she was born into slavery and preserved to become one of the wealthiest women in the early 1900s. The determination she had to succeed and how much she hustled to make her dreams come true not only left me admiring her but also in awe because not everyone has that drive in them. I think it was also admirable that she wanted to not only uplift herself and her I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I can only give it a 2.5. The story of Madam CJ Walker is incredibly fascinating given how she was born into slavery and preserved to become one of the wealthiest women in the early 1900s. The determination she had to succeed and how much she hustled to make her dreams come true not only left me admiring her but also in awe because not everyone has that drive in them. I think it was also admirable that she wanted to not only uplift herself and her daughter, but also all African Americans. In a time when women had little rights, and African American women even less rights, what Madam Walker accomplished is truly a testament to her character. Her story is definitely one that should be more widely known than it is.

Where this book lost me is the writing style. It is very dry and reads like a textbook at times. Others may appreciate it, but I was not a fan of how much extraneous information was included. There are paragraphs, pages, and even chapters that go off in-depthly to discuss events that were happening or people who were important at that time, but in the grand scheme of Madam Walker's story did not need to be included or could have had a few sentences written about them. Clearly Ms. Perry Bundles did an obscene amount of research but for me it was research that I was not looking for. I feel like the book probably could have been half as long and more focused on just Madam Walker and been a much better read.

Given that this book was written in 2000, it is a very different reading experience now in 2020 than it would have been 20 years ago. With the current political climate in the United States and wide spread protests about racial issues I definitely perceived parts of the book differently than what I'm sure Ms. Perry Bundles was originally intending. I saw parallels between the current fight to defund the police and Madam Walker's fight to protest lynching as well as their frustration with President Wilson and his lack of taking a stance against lynching and racial issues in general and the current administration. ...more

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Aug 04, 2020 Reanin Mcroberts rated it liked it

I was really excited to win this! I first became interested in the Madam Walker company after reading an article about her mansion in New Jersey. I’m not sure if I got mixed up because there was no Jersey connection in this story.
So, aside from being mildly disappointed that we can’t claim Madam Walker as one of our own, I enjoyed the story, but there were SO MANY FACTS and it was hard for me to keep track of all the characters. The part that was most fascinating to me was how Madam Walker was ...more

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May 17, 2020 Kelsey rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this book because Madame CJ Walker is such a fascinating and inspiring woman and I wanted to know more about her story. I am a historian so I wasn’t deterred by previous reviewers description of boring details, etc. Most of this information served well to contextualize Madame CJ Walker’s life and in the times in which she lived. What I actually did have a problem with was the amount of “analysis” of fairly unimportant details such as whether or not a letter was a ghost wr ...more

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Jun 22, 2020 Kami rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: african-american, 2020-books, historical-fiction

Did not finish. If you are looking for a well written STORY about Madam CJ Walker, don't look here. This was written like a textbook. I can appreciate all of the research the author (who is great great granddaughter of the Madam) did and I do believe the story is as accurate as she could have possibly achieved. But, it wasn't written in an easily consumable format. There were way too many details (like actual addresses of where people lived) that could have been omitted or saved for the referenc ...more

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Aug 28, 2015 Beverlee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: women-s-history

Awesome read! Mme. Walker's story is an inspiration to all. I especially loved reading how she came to be such a successful businesswoman from such a humble beginning. To know this was possible 100+ years ago...gives me great hope for my own future. I appreciate the author's meticulous attention to details & including the important events of the day, that just makes the story more amazing. ...more

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Apr 02, 2020 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Incredible story of black history and powerful women looking out for each other. Incredible accomplishments to help women grow hair and provide them with a way out of poverty. Now to watch the Netflix series.

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Feb 16, 2009 Babydoll rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a well written and detailed biography that I read in graduate school at Howard University. I highly recommend this book to all who want to learn more about an African American icon.

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Feb 12, 2015 Sonja Williams rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Read!

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Oct 06, 2019 Eric Farr rated it liked it · review of another edition

On Her Own Ground is a thorough, well-researched, impressive biography of Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, who became a hugely successful black businesswoman as an early pioneer in the black beauty products and hair culture market around the turn of the twentieth century. It's written by A'Lelia Bundles, a successful journalist and descendant of Madam Walker. It's packed with historical sidebars and character sketches of significant events and personalities that impacted America and Afri On Her Own Ground is a thorough, well-researched, impressive biography of Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, who became a hugely successful black businesswoman as an early pioneer in the black beauty products and hair culture market around the turn of the twentieth century. It's written by A'Lelia Bundles, a successful journalist and descendant of Madam Walker. It's packed with historical sidebars and character sketches of significant events and personalities that impacted America and African Americans during that time period. This is exactly the sort of book I expected to love, but I admit that I struggled with it--and quite a bit. I found myself picking it up and putting it down many, many times to move between other books. I'd gulp down On Her Own Ground's interesting accounts of black soldiers in World War I, efforts by civil rights leaders of the 1910's to combat widespread lynchings, and portrayals of the division between Bookerites and more radical advocates for racial reform. But those sections were overshadowed by a considerable amount of text that was, to me, rather dry.

You might assume that the sections I was bored by related to Madam Walker's hair care business. That's not quite true! I picked up the book with a full idea of how she became the successful businesswoman she is remembered as. This isn't just a tale of personal success (though her rise from poverty and abuse and racial segregation in the South to a high-class life with multiple properties across America is truly awe-inspiring), but of the development of a movement that created black beauty standards in America and that sought to improve the self-sufficiency and self-image of black women. Black women were being provided jobs that paid better than meager, back-breaking domestic work. They were being provided a model of self-care that highlighted black beauty instead of trying to emulate white beauty standards (Madam Walker was always focused on hair growth and hair health, and she repeatedly insisted that she never marketed an "anti-kink" or hair-straightener product, though she did later sell hot combs as part of her total hair care regimen).

What was boring to me was the relatively impersonal, and lengthy, list of social engagements and conventions that Madam Walker attended. These conventions would be outlined in length. Much time would be spent on locations, speakers, and topics. It was made clear repeatedly that there are many gaps in how Madam Walker actually thought, how she reacted in private to the major events of the day. Refocusing on her public appearances and social engagements doesn't make for exciting reading and ultimately felt like a padded-out narrative. That feeling isn't really fair, though! Again, this is a well-researched and comprehensive book, and it makes sense to discuss these public events as evidence of Madam Walker the person and not just the corporate icon. It just didn't seem to add much to my understanding of who she was as a person, and while academics or local historians may delight in some of the well-cited particular details pulled together here, I found as a casual reader that the book lagged in pace considerably and frequently.

It's kind of a weird coincidence that I've finished this book just as increased attention has been brought to the development of a Netflix-produced series about the life of Madam Walker. The series is in fact based on this very book. It may come to be that the series will prove to be the more engaging, approachable entry into the life of this groundbreaking woman. ...more

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Jun 16, 2020 Kibkabe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Self Made also known as On Her Own Ground by A'Lelia Bundles is an engrossing biography about Madam C.J. Walker, the Black woman behind a million-dollar hair care empire who became a Black History Month fixture yet the story of her life and rise to success is largely still shrouded.

Born Sarah Breedlove in Louisiana, Madam C.J. Walker lived in poverty for decades with marrying as a teenager after her formerly enslaved parents died, dealing with abusive marriages, then making pennies as a washwom Self Made also known as On Her Own Ground by A'Lelia Bundles is an engrossing biography about Madam C.J. Walker, the Black woman behind a million-dollar hair care empire who became a Black History Month fixture yet the story of her life and rise to success is largely still shrouded.

Born Sarah Breedlove in Louisiana, Madam C.J. Walker lived in poverty for decades with marrying as a teenager after her formerly enslaved parents died, dealing with abusive marriages, then making pennies as a washwoman. At the time, she, like many other women, are dealing with severe hair loss, most likely due to the lack of daily cleanliness with the scarcity of water and soap. A hair care entrepreneur named Annie Turnbo helps Sarah grow her hair. With the success, Sarah makes her own products to help women grow their hair. She does everything in her power to hobnob with the wealthy in Indianapolis, where she ends up as the place to start her business with her third husband C.J. Walker and daughter Lelia from a previous marriage. One of the main people she tries to connect with is Booker T. Washington, the civil rights speaker, who believes Madam C.J. Walker’s hair care products are meant to straighten Black women’s hair to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards. It’s one of the fabrications about Madam C.J. Walker that she created the products, including the straightening comb, to straighten kinks out. This biography tries to decipher how this lie followed Madam C.J. Walker’s career as it derives from a newspaper article where a White reporter wrote the products are for straightening Black hair to be more like White hair.

The book is drenched in details. A’Lelia Bundles, an experienced journalist, is the great-great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker, named after the daughter Lelia, who later goes by A’Lelia when she becomes a Harlem socialite. With the journalism aspect, there’s context on top of context describing the historical, geographical, and socioeconomic conditions around Sarah and her career as she moves around the country to grow her business. Indianapolis is the city of choice during the Great Migration for Sarah to make it the business birthplace until the blossoming Harlem in New York City becomes the spot as the home of Black excellence. A lot of these details had been omitted in the shortened bios that people are given about Madam C.J. Walker, so it’s refreshing to get the whole story along with the thousands of obstacles that this history-making entrepreneur endured, which is a main aspect missing from those bios.

Annie Turnbo Malone, the hair care entrepreneur who may have inspired Madam C.J. Walker to start her own business, is portrayed in the Netflix series as a nemesis. In the story, there is conflict between the two women as competitors, but it’s not all-encompassing like the TV series made it seem. In the series, Annie Turnbo Malone is turned into a fictional character who is color-struck and upset that Madam C.J. Walker is finding more success. Most never heard of Annie Turnbo Malone, and the TV series messes up her image as a nemesis rather than a natural business competitor since she’s also a part of Black history, particularly when it comes to entrepreneurship. Annie Turnbo Malone also had a monstrously large business spanning states and a résumé reflecting philanthropy. The biography clears up the relationship that Netflix chose to construe for dramatic purposes.

The book also shows how Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter A’Lelia worked so hard to get the business off the ground and running that their physical health deteriorated. Both women died relatively young from hypertension and not being able to control it because they refused to slow down. They both had similar marriage problems with Madam C.J. Walker’s title being named after her third husband she was only married to for about six years, which turned out to be crucial years in the business hence her title. A’Lelia also had three short-lived marriages like her mother. Surprisingly, the marriage tumult doesn’t seem to derail the women’s ambitions as the company grows and takes young Black women under their wings to spread the success.

Overall, the biography is very well-researched and elaborately tells the full story of a Black woman seen as the grandmother of the modern-day billion-dollar Black hair care industry. The book was originally published as On Her Own Ground in 2001 and casually renamed Self Made after the Netflix series of the same name.
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Jan 18, 2015 Charlotte rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A’Lelia Bundles’ biography of Madam C. J. Walker, On Her Own Ground, was much more than I had anticipated. Part of the title is “The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker” but I was not prepared for the eye-opening effect African-American history – the ”times” part of the story - would have on me. It’s more than a backdrop to the life story of this most remarkable woman who was born to ex-slaves two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln. Born in Delta, Louisiana ...more

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About A'Lelia Perry Bundles

A'Lelia Perry Bundles

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A’Lelia Bundles is the author of four books about her entrepreneurial great-great-grandmother, including On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, the biography that inspired “Self Made,” the four-part Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer. The 2020 edition of this New York Times Notable Book is renamed Self Made. She is at work on The Joy Goddess of Harlem: A’Lelia Walker and ...more

Books by A'Lelia Perry Bundles

Madam Walker Theatre Center: An Indianapolis Treasure (Images of America: Indiana)

Genealogy Tool Kit: Getting Started on Your Family History at the National Archives

Why Are Black Women Losing Their Hair?: The First Complete Guide to Healthy Hair

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“When women saw her photo and heard her life story, they clamored to take her course and sit for her treatments. The twin promises of enhanced beauty and financial gain—not to mention Madam Walker’s own phenomenal personal example—served as a magnet to women who had always believed they would never be more than maids and laundresses.” — 1 likes

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