Bio

This is the biography of Sara Breedlove Walker who was born into the poor, African American community of the cotton fields in the South right after slavery was abolished. From there she worked her way through life supporting her daughter's education and eventually developing her own hair products for women. She made her own business and eventually became one of the most wealthy African Americans in her time. ( )

"Visions of Beauty" tells the story of Sarah Breedlove Walker, a woman who grew up to become of the most famous entrepreneurs of the early 1900s. After Sarah married and became Madam C.J. Walker, she created a line of beauty products for African American woman, which she sold through her new business, the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. Madam Walker went door to door selling her products. According to Lasky's account, "All customers were viewed as future agents. The agents who sold Madam Walker products were trained to speak to customers not only about health and beauty but about self-sufficiency as well. They were offering women a vision of freedom and dignity: making money in a respectful occupation as a hairdresser or saleswoman while still being good wives and mothers."

A few years after the company took off, it was making over $3000 a week ($30,000 today). By 1912, Madam Walker was one of the richest (and most generous) African Americans in the U.S. At a convention with Booker T. Washington, Madam Walker explained that she was not simply trying to make money for herself, but also to help other African Americans gain a foothold in a prejudiced world.

I quite enjoyed reading this book and I think it would be an inspirational story for young girls to read. I loved the illustrations, and especially the illustrator's note at the end where she comments on society's beauty standards and why Madam Walker was a pioneer for African American Women ( )

Great story of a woman who did things she wasn't supposed to do, ignored restrictive traditions, and became incredibly successful while helping other women do the same thing. Sarah Breedlove Walker created her own hair-strengthening tonics and defied the conventions of advertising, which glorified white women's hair and told black women their hair was "bad." ( )

A great story on the life of a woman who influenced African American women beauty products. After being born just after slavery was made illegal, Sarah Breedlove did everything everything she could do help her family. Her mother and father's passing led her to make her own decisions and take care of herself. After becoming a widow, Sarah worked as a laundress while being a single mother. She had always been fascinated by how healthy women traveler's hair had been. Sarah started to take an interest in plants and oils to help treat her own damaged hair. Not long after, she created formulas in her own small laboratory and began making hair products. After she married Charles Walker, she was able to open a factory in Pittsburgh where she would sell her products. She enlisted the help of black women of all ages to sell the products door to door. During her life, the Mme. C. J. Walker Company was one of the largest companies in America and Madam Walker was one of the richest women of her time. ( )