“The Party”—“The Party” by Paul Laurence Dunbar.
“make the scene a very brilliant one”—Indpls. Recorder, Apr. 25, 1914.
“the richly gowned women”—“Locals and Personals,” Indpls. Recorder, Apr. 17, 1915; “Mme. C. J. Walker’s Musicale for Mrs. Lelia Robinson,” Indpls. Recorder, Apr. 24, 1915.
Called “one of the most elaborate functions”—“To Entertain at Recital,” Indpls. Recorder, Mar 27, 1915; “Mme. C. J. Walker’s Musicale.”
At H. P. Wassons—H. P. Wasson May–July 1915 bill (MWC/IHS).
the jeweler who had provided—William M. Lewis, “The Life and Work of Mme. C. J. Walker,” Indpls. Freeman, Dec. 26, 1914.
“were the recipients of much social attention”—“Business Woman to Make Lengthy Far West Tour,” Indpls. Recorder, June 19, 1915, p. 1.
“I guess you think I am crazy”—MW to FBR, July 31, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“No, I don’t think you crazy”—FBR to MW, Aug. 2, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“I assure you I am not going to buy”—MW to FBR , undated, but probably Aug. 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“People know that he has been in prison”—MW to FBR, June 26, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
“I am tired of fooling with”—MW to FBR, June 3, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
“another sassy letter” and “I do not care to have any more communication”—MW to FBR, Mar. 20, 1916; MW to FBR, Feb. 16, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
said “something too hard”—MW to FBR, June 3, 1916.
“I wish that you could get in touch”—Ibid.
“Mrs. Walker is grounded in the belief”—“The Frances Spencer Benefit,” Indpls. Recorder, Feb. 6, 1915.
“the constant effort”—“Musicale and Dance,” Indpls. Recorder, Dec. 19, 1914.
white business community—“The Frances Spencer Benefit,” Indpls. Recorder, Feb. 20, 1915.
only black harpist—“Personal Mention,” Indpls. Recorder, Dec. 12, 1914.
“at a premium”—Indpls. Recorder, Feb. 20, 1915.
“unusually talented” Spencer—Indpls. Recorder, Dec. 19, 1914.
$300 check and “in order that she might get”—“Mme. C. J. Walker Says Harpist Is Ungrateful,” Chicago Defender, May 8, 1915; “A Tribute,” Indpls. Recorder, Feb. 27, 1915. (Special thanks to Paula Giddings for first making me aware of the Spencer incident.)
“After the recital”—Chicago Defender, May 8, 1915.
“After remaining here for about two months”—Ibid.
“Now I want to say, and this is final”—Ibid.
“Madam loved going to the movies”—Violet Reynolds, conversations with author between 1975 and 1983.
As the movie industry was establishing itself—Robert Sklar, Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies (New York: Vintage Books, 1994), p. 89.
But when she presented her dime—Sarah Walker v. The Central Amusement Company, State of Indiana, Marion J.P. Court, undated.
he demanded $100 in damages—Ibid.
“the only one of [its] kind in Indianapolis”—Indpls. Freeman, Dec. 26, 1914.
she hosted a Sunday afternoon reception—“Distinguished Guests at Mme. C. J. Walker’s,” Indpls. Freeman, Aug. 15, 1914.
in line to become NACW president—Rayford Logan, “Mary Burnett Talbert,” in Logan and Winston, DANB, p. 576.
“a factor in the great affairs”—“In Club Circles—Echo Meeting,” Indpls. Recorder, Aug. 15, 1914.
During the visit—Indpls. Recorder, Aug. 15, 1914; “City and Vicinity,” Indpls. Freeman, Aug. 15, 1914.
Talbert had graduated from Oberlin College—Lillian S. Williams, “And Still I Rise: Black Women and Reform, Buffalo, New York, 1900–1940,” in Darlene Clark Hine, Wilma King and Linda Reed, eds., “We Specialize in the Wholly Impossible”: A Reader in Black Women’s History (Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing, 1995), p. 523; Rayford Logan, “Mary Burnett Talbert,” DANB, p. 576.
hosted a seven-course dinner—“Madam C. J. Walker Entertains in Honor of Major R. R. Moton,” Indpls. Recorder, Apr. 3, 1915, and Indpls. Freeman, Apr. 3, 1915.
three public appearances—“YMCA Notes,” Indpls. Recorder, Mar. 27, 1915, and “Hampton Institute,” Indpls. Recorder, Mar 27, 1915.
Among the guests—Indpls. Recorder, Apr. 3, 1915, and Indpls. Freeman, Apr. 3, 1915.
$100 scholarship—Indpls. Recorder, Mar. 27, 1915.
William Monroe Trotter—“Locals and Personals,” Indpls. Recorder, Apr. 3, 1915; Trotter to LWR, June 28, 1919 (author’s Walker Family Collection).
At the invitation of Ransom—“W. Monroe Trotter,” Indpls. Recorder, Mar. 27, 1915
excluding them from cafeterias—David Levering Lewis, W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race 1868–1919 (New York: Henry Holt, 1993), p. 510.
dwindled markedly from thirty-one to eight—Ibid.
The controversial publicity—“Equal Rights or Segregation,” Indpls. Recorder, Apr. 3, 1915.
“one of the most beneficial”—Trotter to FBR, Apr. 6, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
contribution for her Florida school—Mary McLeod Bethune to MW, Apr. 5, 1917 (MWC/IHS); “Mrs. Mary Bethune, a Noted Race Woman, to Be in the City Tuesday,” Indpls. Recorder, May 15, 1915.
But one visitor Madam Walker did not entertain—“Mme. A. M. Pope Turnbo Malone’s Visit to the Hoosier Metropolis,” Indpls. Recorder, May 29, 1915.
Having married Aaron Malone—“Malone-Pope-Turnbo Nuptials!” Indpls. Freeman, Apr. 25, 1914.
the new Mrs. Malone was featured—“Mme. A.M. Pope Turnbo Malone’s Visit.”
Malone “is known the country over”—Ibid.
“the queen of all Negro business women”—Indpls. Freeman, Apr. 25, 1914.
“Now in regards to George Stewart”—MW to FBR, Oct. 20, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
she gave twenty-five lectures—“Madam C. J. Walker Buys Splendid Eastern Home,” Indpls. Recorder, Oct. 31, 1914; “Mme. C. J. Walker Home from the East—Will Make Her Future Home in Flushing, NY,” Indpls. Freeman, Oct. 31, 1914.
“Will you kindly give me a letter of introduction”—MW to BTW, July 9, 1915 (BTW/LOC).
$250 donation “in accordance with my promise”—MW to BTW (BTW/LOC, Box 759 TA-WE, 1915 Donation File).
“We shall see that the money”—BTW to MW (BTW/LOC, Box 759 TA-WE, 1915 Donation File).
“gorgeous colored rocks”—”Mme. C. J. Walker’s Travelogue a Success,” Indpls. Freeman, Jan. 22, 1916.
“My lecture Monday night”—MW to FBR, undated but probably mid to late July 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“Everybody gets enthused”—MW to FBR, July 31, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“I fear I will not be able to reach home”—MW to FBR, Sept. 9, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
Japanese, Italian and German papers—Ibid.
As she traveled—Indpls. Freeman, Jan. 22, 1916.
“I am sure that this trip”—MW to FBR, Sept. 9, 1915.
she “aroused people to the highest”—MW to FBR, Oct. 5, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“Now, Mr. Ransom, I find that a number of agents”—MW to FBR, Sept. 9, 1915.
“Now, I think I do business enough”—MW to FBR, Oct. 5, 1915.
“going to take steps”—MW to FBR, Oct. 23, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
presented lectures in Oakland—MW to FBR, Sept. 18, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
While in the Bay Area—“Business Woman to Make Lengthy Far West Tour,” Indpls. Recorder, June 19, 1915.
visited San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific Exposition—MW to FBR, Sept. 18, 1915.
farther north to Portland—MW to FBR, Oct. 23, 1915.
“Mr. Ransom, is it essential”—MW to FBR, Oct. 20, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“I am truly homesick now”—MW to FBR, Oct. 23, 1915.
“This trip is and will mean so much”—Ibid.
“Since I find that these pictures”—Ibid.
she wired $10,000 to Ransom—MW to FBR, Oct. 23, 1915, Oct. 29, 1915, and Nov. 6, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“Yes, I say it is remarkable the way my
bank account”—MW to FBR, Nov. 6, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
“I have never lost anyone”—MW to FBR, undated, but probably Nov. 19, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
Immediately she sent Margaret Murray Washington—MW to Margaret Murray Washington (BTW/LOC).
cross-shaped floral arrangement—“Madam C. J. Walker,” Indpls. Recorder, Nov. 20, 1915.
8,000 mourners—“8,000 Attend Funeral of B. T. Washington,” Indpls. Recorder, Nov. 20, 1915; N. Barnett Dodson, “B. T. Washington Dies at Tuskegee,” Indpls. Recorder, Nov. 27, 1915.
“It gave me much pleasure”—MW to FBR, undated, but probably Nov. 19, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
it was Robert Russa Moton—“Major Moton Succeeds Booker T. Washington,” Indpls. Recorder, Dec. 25, 1915.
As soon as Madam Walker returned—MW to Emmett J. Scott, Dec. 1, 1915 (BTW/LOC).
“Be it resolved”—“Membership Banquet in Honor of Madam C. J. Walker, Friend and Benefactress,” Indpls. Recorder, Dec. 18, 1915.
That Christmas—“Locals and Personals—Persons Desiring Christmas Baskets,” Indpls. Recorder, Dec. 18, 1915.
Her featured guest—William Lewis, “Mme. C. J. Walker’s Travelogue a Success,” Indpls. Freeman, Jan. 22, 1916.
Only the talented Noble Sissle—Badger, A Life in Ragtime, pp. 131–32.
“The citizens of Indianapolis”—“Madame C. J. Walker Leaves Scene of Her Labor and Success,” Indpls. Freeman, Feb. 12, 1916.
“is not only a credit”—Ibid.
“but as the big-hearted”—Ibid.
CHAPTER 15 BLACK METROPOLIS
“It is just impossible”—MW to FBR, Feb. 22, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
To the rousing tunes of James Reese Europe—“Mrs. Lelia Walker Robinson Opens Beauty Parlor,” Indpls. World, Jan. 22, 1916.
East Coast high society—Badger, A Life in Ragtime, p. 139.
Lelia’s elegant lobby—Literary Digest, Oct. 13, 1917.
“most affable and courteous woman”—Indpls, World, Jan. 22, 1916.
Even her mother had credited her—“Walker Presence in Harlem—Wonderful Success of Mme. C. J. Walker,” The Colored American Review, Mar. 1916 (GSC/CU,Vol. 41).
“Now, Mr. Ransom, in regards to this house”—MW to FBR, Feb. 22, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
“Lelia and Mae are rejoicing”—Ibid.
“It was a surprise”—Ibid.
“Am writing you to do a friendly turn”—LWR to FBR, Dec. 7, 1913 (MWC/IHS).
“Now I know, Mr. Ransom, Mother has been wonderful”—Ibid.
To soften the request, Lelia proposed—Ibid.
“I realize I have certainly imposed”—Ibid.
“My income is now $1,000 a month”—Ibid.
“Since you treated my hair”—“Walker’s Hair Parlor and Lelia College,” pamphlet, circa 1915, p. 10 (MWFC/APB).
Every six weeks—Literary Digest, Oct. 13, 1917, pp. 75–76.
“The business has picked up”—MW to FBR, Feb. 22, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
“Lelia wants $3,000”—MW to FBR, undated but probably mid to late July 1915.
completed the purchase of 110—LWR to FBR, July 30, 1915 (MWC/IHS). (Blanche L. Rosenthal of 46 West 96th Street held the mortgage on 110 W. 136th Street.)
“Will you kindly go to the bank”—MW to FBR, Sept. 9, 1915 (MWC/IHS).
Lelia’s ivory Louis XVI—Literary Digest, Oct. 13, 1917, p. 76.
mantel filled with framed photographs—Photograph of LWR’s bedroom, Byron Collection, Museum of the City of New York. (Special thanks to Michael Henry Adams for making me aware of this photograph.)
A player organ—Literary Digest, Oct. 13, 1917, p. 76.
an “expensive pink-flowered lavender”—Ibid.
Among the guests seated—“ Mme. C. J. Walker Honored,” Indpls. Recorder, Nov. 7, 1914.
With his 125-member Clef Club and music director for Vernon and Irene Castle—Badger, A Life in Ragtime, pp. 66 and 77.
“statuesquely powerful build”—Ibid., p. 67.
recently formed Tempo Club Ensemble now headquartered in a row house—Ibid., pp. 88 and 138, cites New York Age, July 6, 1916. (The Tempo Club was founded in Jan. 1914 after Europe left the Clef Club Orchestra.)
Another guest, Philip Payton—Indpls. Recorder, Nov. 7, 1914.
Four years later, under a new name—Dodson et al., The Black New Yorkers, p. 120.
As a result, scores of the remaining white tenants—“The New York Negro as a Tenant,” Philip A. Payton ad, The Crisis, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Nov. 1910), p. 20; Gilbert Osofsky, Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto (2nd ed.; New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1971), p. 94, cites the New York Age, Dec. 5, 1912.
an early officer and investor—John B. Wiseman, “Fred(erick Randolph) Moore,” in Logan and Winston, DANB, p. 447.
he had been forced to close—Thaddeus Russell, “Philip A. Payton, Jr.,” in Jack Salzman et al., Encyclopedia of Africa-American Culture and History (New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA, 1996), p. 2116.
The estates of its few wealthy residents—Jeff Kisseloff, You Must Remember This: An Oral History of Manhattan from the 1890s to World War II (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989), p. 87; Osofsky, Harlem, p. 71.
Harlem became the city’s first suburb—Osofsky, Harlem, p. 71.
“rural retreat”—Ann Douglas, Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1995), pp. 309–10.
“distinctly devoted to the mansions”—Osofsky, Harlem, p. 2.
When the overheated real estate market—Ibid., p. 80.
the trickle of black migration—Charles E. Hall and Z. R. Pettet, Negroes in the United States: 1920–32 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1935), p. 55.
Nail’s late father—“Passing of Jack Nail,” Indpls. Recorder, Jan. 29, 1910.
His investments in Harlem—James Weldon Johnson, Black Manhattan (New York: Da Capo Press, 1991; originally published by Knopf, 1930), p. 149, and Maceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr., “John (Jack) E. Nail,” in Logan and Winston, DANB, pp. 469–70.
In 1911 when blacks were scattered—Jervis Anderson, A. Philip Randolph: A Biographical Portrait (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972), p. 54.
black New York’s first million-dollar real estate transaction—Osofsky, Harlem, p. 117; Dailey, “John (Jack) E. Nail.”
“fight the common enemy”—Osofsky, Harlem, p. 107. (Some sources call the organization the Harlem Property Owners’ Improvement Corporation.)
“drive them out and send them to the slums”—Ibid.
Just before St. Philip’s 1911 purchase—“Nail and Parker ‘Pull Off’ Big Deal,” New York Age, Mar. 30, 1911, in Allon Schoener, ed., Harlem on My Mind: Cultural Capital of Black America 1900–1978 (New York: Delta, Dell Publishing, 1979), pp. 23–24.
“no matter what happens”—“Loans to White Renegades Who Back Negroes Cut Off,” Harlem Home News, Apr. 7, 1911, in Schoener, Harlem on My Mind, p. 25.
no wall had been constructed—LWR to FBR, Dec. 7, 1913 (MWC/IHS).
50,000 blacks—Osofsky, Harlem, p. 105.
Richard B. Harrison and convinced that “all she had to do”—Will M. Lewis, “The Life Work of Mme. C. J. Walker,” Indpls. Freeman, Dec. 26, 1914.
“Naturally enough the New York folk”—S. A. Singerman to FBR, Nov. 30, 1914 (MWC/IHS); “Walker vs. Derrick,” Nov. 28, 1914, in Singerman to FBR, Nov. 28, 1914 (MWC/IHS). The property was located at Prince and State streets in Flushing, Queens, on Long Island.
Enchanted by the four-story, twenty-room house—Singerman to FBR, Nov. 5, 1914 (MWC/IHS).
But before Madam Walker could move—Untitled, undated manuscript about Villa Lewaro, pp. 2–3 (MWC/IHS).
Madam Walker was seeking a discreet . . . exit—MW to FBR, May 25, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
“Apparently your client has been fearfully imposed upon”—Singerman to FBR, Nov. 5, 1914.
But because Madam Walker had signed a contract—“Walker vs. Derrick.”
“As you know, Madam had gone into this”—FBR
to LWR, Nov. 30, 1914 (MWC/IHS).
“piled up a snug sum”—Ibid.
“I have advised Madam against”—Ibid.
“There are those who say live”—Ibid.
“As regards my coming back to Indianapolis”—MW to FBR, June 3, 1916 (MWC/IHS).
the sixty-story Gothic terra-cotta Woolworth tower—George L. Lankevich, American Metropolis: A History of New York City (New York: New York University Press, 1998), p. 150; Edward Robb Ellis, The Epic of New York City: A Narrative History (New York: Kodansha International, 1997, originally published 1966), pp. 495–96.
fifty-story Metropolitan Life Insurance Building—Lankevich, American Metropolis, pp. 149–50; Ellis, The Epic of New York City, p. 495.
to exceed a million people—Osofsky, Harlem, p. 75, cites Walter Laidlaw, Population of the City of New York, 1890–1930 (New York, 1932), p. 51.
more than 25,000 factories—Lankevich, American Metropolis, p. 126.
two-thirds of the largest 100 U.S. corporations—Ibid.
topped the two-million mark—Ibid., p. 148.
The large influx in the 1880s—Ibid., p. 122.
a half million Italians—Ibid., pp. 122–23.
African Americans and black West Indians flowed into Harlem—Nathan Irvin Huggins, Harlem Renaissance (London: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 18.
Those attired “in loud-checked suits”—Literary Digest, Oct. 13, 1917, quotes an undated report from the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes.
While Harlem was not without its share—Osofsky, Harlem, p. 111.
“Negroes as a whole are . . . better housed”—National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, Housing Conditions Among Negroes in Harlem, New York City (New York, 1915), p. 8.
“the character of Negro protest and thought”—Huggins, Harlem Renaissance, p. 18.
“the biggest and most elegant”—Ibid., p. 14.
charting “a new course for racial assertiveness”—Lewis, Du Bois, p. 387.
On Her Own Ground Page 47