Madam C.J. Walker becomes the first self-made Black woman millionaire

By 1910, Sarah Breedlove Walker — known as Madam C.J. Walker — had built a haircare empire employing over 40,000 agents across the United States, Caribbean, and Central America, becoming the first self-made Black female millionaire in American history. Her business model of training Black women as independent sales agents created economic opportunity for Black women at a time when virtually no other professional paths were open to them.