The biography, “Madam C. J. Walker”, written by Jim Haskings talks about the life of Sarah Breedlove, famously known as Madame C. J. Walker, the first African-American woman to become a self-made millionaire by creating and selling hair-care products for Black women. Sarah was born in 1867 in a very racist environment of the South. Her parents were formally slaves who gained freedom following President Abraham Lincolin’s Emancipation Proclamation and the Union Victory in the Civil War. However, the Breedloves, the former slaves received no money or education, only knowing skills of growing crops, they had no choice but remain on the Burney family plantation in Delta, Louisiana being sharecroppers. Sarah married McWilliams and had a daughter, Lelia. Jim Crow Laws were enacted, enforcing segregation from the white to black in nearly every aspect of life. Conditions for blacks in the south had worsened compared to slavery times. Unfornately, Mcwilliams was killed by a lynch mob. Being a widow at the age of 20, Sarah took in laundry to earn a living. Sarah enrolled Lelia in St. Louis Public schools, pleased that her daughter would receive education she herself had been denied. Sarah noticed that her hair was falling out. She tried many hair solutions for black women but nothing worked. One day she had a dream about what to mix up for her hair. Sarah put the solution on her hair, and it started growing rapidly. The solution also worked on her friends’ hair so she decided to sell it. Later, Sarah married C. J. Walker, a newspaper man who knew a lot about selling by mail order. With his help, the hair-care business was a huge success. Unfortunately, They divorced due to some business disagreements. Admirably, Sarah helped and trained many black women inside or outside America to go into the Walker Company. Sarah’s daughter took over her job as the director of the shop after she died. Looking closely at Sarah’s whole life, she encountered many social problems: discrimination on certain races, discrimination on women, and discrimination on low education. Let’s discuss.
Racism involves a belief or ideology that treats people unfairly because of the skin of their color, leading to prejudice and discrimination. Racism results in not only social, economic, and political disadvantages but also limited access to resources and opportunities for targeted racial groups. Even after President Abraham Lincolin’s Emancipation Proclamation, the Breedlove couldn’t become independent to start a new life. In addition, Jim Crow laws make the conditions for the blacks even worse. The white supremacy groups like the Ku Klux Klan achieved their greatest power, and lynchings of blacks were common. The first social problem Madame faced is discrimination on her race. Born as the child of slaves, the whole family was treated unfairly, especially in the South under very racist conditions. Even though the Breedloves got freedom, they still could not do anything because they had very limited financial resources to start a new life. They received no money help from the government. They have no education because they as slaves have to work on the cotton field. The only skill they know is to grow cotton. So think about what else they can do? How can they make a living? To them, this “freedom” means they are “kicked out”. Eventually they have no choice but to stay still on the Burney family plantations. So it seems like they have a good reputation for setting free. Actually they were not. And they are still sharecroppers. So this is social. Furthermore, Jim Crow law makes the practice of segregating the black people from the white, like black people cannot go to the same school, church, restroom, restaurant, department stores, or other public facility where the white goes. Additionally, the group of The KKK made by the whites thought they were white getting great power. They hate black people and they were lynching the black. Absolutely the white had no right to kill the black. This is unfair and inhuman! Madame was living in the terror of being black. Fighting racism is not just making the law to announce the freedom for certain races. It requires acknowledging its existence, understanding its impact, and actively working toward promoting equity and justice for the targeted races.
Women, compared to men, often receive unfair treatment, attitudes, discrimination, or prejudices in many parts of life. This discrimination against women is rooted in long standing societal expectations and stereotypes, which restrict women’s opportunity to certain careers and freedom of choices. Madame found a remedy for solving the black woman's hair problem. Madame made a lot of money with the help of her husband C. J. Walker, a newspaperman, knew how to advertise her product. But they divorced because they had business disagreements. He thought that Madame was making enough money and she should be satisfied. But Madame was convinced that the hair preparations would fill a longfelt want and she embarked in business for herself. The second social problem Madame encountered is discrimination on her gender. Madame wanted to fix the hair-loss problem. She said she had a dream about a man telling her a remedy for growing hair. Honestly, I don't believe it. But one thing I can be sure of is that Madame had a very good business mind. She never publicly revealed the formula of her hair-product mixture. She uses the dream to cover her hair-product recipe. She let friends try and they all worked, then she started the business, which was very successful and made a great amount of money. C. J. Walkerm thought it was enough and she should go back to normal doing laundry for a living. But Madame thinks she should devote her time to her hair-care company. The reality proves Madame was right and every black woman needs and likes her hair-product. Admirably, Madame helped and trained over 5000 black female agents all over the world to become independent and earn money. Madam Walker was very proud of being a woman, and she was convinced that she could make it in the business world without the help of men. Almost from the start she determined that her business would be run by women. In 1906 she put her twenty-one- year-old daughter, Lelia, in charge of her growing mail-order business. In Madame’s mind, she wanted black women to go into business. Why should they toil over hot laundry tubs and clean white people's houses when they could be in business for themselves? Madam was discriminated against because she was a woman. Men had greater power but women should have the same too. Women have the same capabilities as men and are equally strong, given equal opportunities. They should not face gender-based discrimination. By challenging unfair stereotypes and cultural norms that restrict women's roles, we can support women in achieving economic independence and making informed life decisions.
Education equips people with knowledge and skills that are required for future employment and defending their rights. Education is a powerful tool because it not only empowers people, especially women, to challenge discriminatory practices but also helps people to promote equality in every aspect of life. The Breedlove did not receive education so they cannot become financially independent to start a new life even though they were not slaves anymore. Madam C. J. Walker didn’t have much education when she was young so it made it harder to start a business. The third social problem Madame confronted is education. Madame did not know the meaning of “freedom”. Her whole family still has to work on the cotton field because that’s the only thing they know for making a living. Madame experienced the painful feelings of no-education results. Without education, their rights and freedom were gone. They would be discriminated against and they would not be able to receive the respect they deserve. Madame truly knows the importance of receiving education. She enrolled Lelia in the St. Louis public schools and was pleased that her daughter would get the education that had been denied to her. For herself, although Madame lacked the formal education that most of these women had, she never felt ashamed of her shortcomings in that area. Instead, Madame taught herself as much as she could and was not afraid to ask someone to define a word she did not know or explain something she did not understand. Everyone should have the opportunity to receive education no matter the amount of education because everyone deserves to learn something for their future. Education opens doors to better economic opportunities, especially for minority groups, reducing inequalities that can lead to discrimination.
“Madame C. J. Walker” by Jim Haskins is an inspiring biography providing detailed information about the life of Madame C. J. Walker. Haskins explores Madame’s life journey from her being born as the child of former slaves in Louisiana to her success in building a hair-care empire in Indianapolis, Indian where the headquarters is. This biography highlights the social problems of discrimination on races, gender, and low education Madame had encountered. It also explained how Madame resolved those social problems and became a successful African-American financially and socially. It seems that those difficult social problems are not the problems at all for her. Even when Madame was in a challenging situation, she still had positive attitudes and took positive actions. The most important thing is her huge contributions to social and economic causes. After the success of the hair-care business, Madame helped and trained over 5000 black female agents all over the world to become independent and earn money. Not many people have such generous thoughts to devote what she has to society. What a remarkable African-American woman!
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