Several organizations and their members have been instrumental as well. Among them are the Association of Black Women Historians, especially Elizabeth Clarke-Lewis, Bettye Collier-Thomas, Gloria Dickinson, Carolyn Dorsey, Sharon Harley, Sylvia Jacobs, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn and Lillian Williams, who welcomed me into their sisterhood; the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society and its president, Barbara Dodson Walker; and the Association for the Study of Afro American Life and History.
Since 1975 I have traveled to more than a dozen cities in pursuit of the Walker women’s story. In each city there were several friends who opened their doors. For their kindness, I am especially grateful to Gladys Lipkin and the late Nathan Lipkin, who provided the keys to their New York apartment in 1997, surely allowing me to stretch my travel and research budget by several more weeks. To Julia Branton Jones, who made me feel welcome in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, even though I spent most of my visit in the library. To Gordon Lewis, who was my host in Los Angeles for a few days when I was completing my first book about Madam Walker. And to Helena and Harold Doley, the current residents of Villa Lewaro, who gave me unlimited access to my great-great-grandmother’s former home on my visits to Irvington during 1997 and 1998.
In Madison Parish, Louisiana, I am grateful to Hazel Ellerbee of the Madison Parish Courthouse, James Griffin, James and Eudora Hill, Rosalind Hodges, Mayor Theodore Lindsey, Charlie Mitchell, Judge Alwine Ragland, Codie Ray, Phyllis Scurria, Henry Clay Sevier, Clara Blondelle Surles, Martha Wade, Martin Williams, Zelma Wyche, Gay Yerger, the members of Women Together, the Madam C. J. Walker Temple No. 648 of The Elks and the Madison Parish Historical Society. In Vicksburg I must give special thanks to Lenore Barkley of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, Irene Beach, Josephine Calloway, Patty K. Elliott at the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honorable George Flaggs, Jr., Kelly Franco, Hobbs Freeman, Janie Gardner, Laura Jones, former mayor Joseph Loviza, Zelmarine Anderson Murphy, Thelma Rush, Doris Sanders, Patricia Anderson Segrest, Blanche Terry, Dorothy and Tillman Whitley, and Emma Lee Wilson.
In Missouri my research benefited from the expertise of Charles E. Brown of the St. Louis Mercantile Library; Ernestine Hardge, Dennis Northcott, Debbie Schraut, Jason Stratman, Carol Verble and Dina Young of the Missouri Historical Society; Jean E. Meeh Gosebrink, Noel Holobeck, Cynthia Millar, Kathleen Smith and the microfilmroom staff of the St. Louis Public Library; Kenn Thomas, Ann Morris and William Fischetti of the Western History Collection at the University of Missouri at St. Louis; Joan Wibbenmeyer and Ann Rogers of the State Historical Society of Missouri; Recorder of Deeds Sharon Quigley Carpenter and archivist Tom Gruenenfelder; St. Louis Public Schools archivist Sharon Huffman; St. Louis Police Department librarian Barbara Miksicek; St. Louis American publisher Donald Suggs and James Vincent of River Tours. I also appreciate the help of Elise Davis, Melba Sweets, Geraldine Ambrose Wells, Ernestine White, Jean Neal and Joan Williams of the Annie Malone Children’s Home and Monica Peterson and Reverend Felix Dancy of St. Paul AME Church.
In Denver my thanks go to Justina Grizzard of St. Paul AME, Jacqueline Lawson, Wallace Yvonne McNair of the Black America West Museum, and Gwendolyn Crenshaw, Eleanor M. Gehres, James Jeffrey and Kay Wisnia of the Western History/Genealogy Department of the Denver Public Library. In Pittsburgh, I am grateful to Reverend Elsie Neal and Pearl Woolridge and Kevin Burrell of the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library.
In Indianapolis I am particularly indebted to Frances Stout, Claudia Polley and Jean Spears, as well as to Bruce Johnson, Peter Harstad and Susan Sutton of the Indiana Historical Society and John Selch at the Indiana State Museum. Special gratitude must go the staff and board of the Madame Walker Theatre Center, especially Karen Ann Lloyd, Mildred Ball and Charles Blair, who are among those dedicated many who keep Madam Walker’s legacy alive. In Pine Bluff, Arkansas, my thanks go to Brenda Tatum of the Pine Bluff Public Library and to James Leslie.
In New York I must acknowledge the assistance of Howard Dodson, Diana Lachatenere, Troy Belle, Lela Sewall and Allison Quammie at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, as well as Michael Adams, Ruth Ellington, Bobby Short, Stanley Nelson (whose film Two Dollars and a Dream first brought Madam Walker’s story to a national television audience) and Anne Easterling and Marguerite Lavin of the Museum of the City of New York. In Irvington-on-Hudson and Westchester Country, New York, I am grateful to Elizabeth Fuller and Katherine Hite of the Westchester County Historical Society; Tema Harnik; Anne Herman; Kevin Ruane and Diana Maull of the Westchester County Office of County Clerk; Larry Schopfer; Elaine Massena of the Westchester Country Archives and especially to Peter Oley, Karen Schatzel, Douglas Wilson and Betsy Griggs of the Irvington Historical Society; and Agnes Sinko and Lenora Munigle of the Irvington Public Library.
In Washington thanks go to Ardie Myers, Sheridan Harvey and Jeffrey Flannery at the Library of Congress. To Thomas Battle, Joellen El-Bashir and Janet Sims-Wood at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. To John A. Vernon, Matthew Fulgham and especially Reggie Washington at the National Archives. And to Edwin Bearrs at the National Park Service.
I am grateful for the understanding of my Radcliffe College Alumnae Association colleagues, especially Mary Carty, Judith Stanton and Jane Tewksbury, and for the support of my ABC News colleagues Robin Sproul, Jane Brooks Aylor and Glennwood Branche.
My mother’s Pine Bluff, Palmer Memorial Institute and Howard University friends—including Sterling Branton, Erness Bright Brody, Roselyn Payne Epps, Jewell Means Greer, Lu Juana Hunter and Blanche Currie Stephens—have provided important information and encouragement.
My personal network has sustained me even when I was in my “writer’s cocoon.” I thank them all for tolerating my inattentiveness. Reverend Annette Barnes, Beverly Branton Lamberson, Linda Chastang, Cassandra Clayton, Deborah Gentry Davis, Reverend June Gatlin, Gwen Russell Green, Sandra Gregg, Gwen Ifill, Marie Johns, Susan LaSalla, Rebecca Lipkin, Dianne Martin, Arona McNeill-Vann, Cheryl McQueen, Michel Martin, Gloria Murray, Njambi, Henri Norris, Dennis Powell, Judy Ransom, Reverend Marilynn Sasportas Robinson, Carole Simpson, Jane E. Smith, Diana Wallette, Gladys Watkins, Brenda Young, and Bill and Antoinette White.
While they were alive, the following people provided important insights and hospitality: Romare Bearden, Jimmie Daniels, Julia Davis, Lucy Davis, Zenobia “Peg” Fisher, Alex Haley, Alberta Hunter, Jean Blackwell Hutson, Geraldyn Dismond Major, Bruce Nugent, Alyeene Perry, David Rice, Alberta Williams, and Judge Nathan Young.
There are no words adequate enough to thank my family: my father, S. Henry Bundles, who has always been my enthusiastic advocate; my late mother, A’Lelia Mae Perry Bundles, who remains my inspiration; my brother, Lance, whose encouragement is a blessing; my brother, Mark, who I hope will benefit from the knowledge in these pages; and my late grandfather, Marion R. Perry, who preserved the treasures of my childhood.
This book, of course, would not have been possible without my editor, Lisa Drew, who had faith in it from the very beginning. I could not have asked for more consistent or caring support. My thanks also go to her assistant, Jake Klisivitch, who suggested the title. As well I am grateful to my agent Gail Ross and my attorney Ken Kaufman, who have helped advise me throughout this process.
And finally, but not least, I happily thank Frederick Cooke, my heart and my balance.
Index
Abbott, Berenice,
Abbott, Robert Sengstacke,
Aborigines Society of London,
Addams, Jane,
Africa
Du Bois on fate of,
German colonies in,
Lelia Walker in,
Madam Walker’s invocation of,
proposed vocational school in,
Africanisms prohibited under slavery,
African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Avery Chapel AME,
Bethel AME Church,
Metropolitan AME Church,
missionary work of,
<
br /> St. Paul AME Church,
Shorter Chapel AME Church,
Western University,
African Methodist Zion Church, Mother AME Zion Church,
Afro-American Realty Company,
Afros. See Hair—Afro style of
Aida (Verdi’s opera),
Albuquerque (New Mexico),
Allen, James Latimer,
Allen, William E.,
Allison, James A.,
Alopecia,
Alpha Home for the Aged,
Aluminum Ore Company,
A.M.E. Church Review,
Amenia Conference (1916),
American Can Company,
American Eagle,
American Guild of Organists,
American Health and Beauty Aids Institute,
American Red Cross,
American Tobacco,
Anderson, Charles W.,
Anderson, Jervis,
Anderson, Marian,
Anheuser-Busch,
Apex Company,
Arden, Elizabeth,
Ardsley Casino,
Armour meatpacking plant,
Armstrong, Mary,
Armstrong, Samuel Chapman,
Ashley, Della Hammond,
Ashley, James,
Associated Press,
Association for the Protection of Colored Women,
Astor, Mrs. Vincent,
Atlanta (Georgia),
Wheat Street Baptist Church,
Atlanta Baptist College,
Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary,
Atlanta Life Insurance Company,
Atlanta University,
Atlantic City (New Jersey),
Atlantic Fleet (U.S. Navy),
Attucks, Crispus,
Avon (company),
Baker, Newton,
Ballou, Charles,
Baltimore, Charles,
Baltimore (Maryland),
Banking,
Baptist churches,
Florida Baptist Academy,
National Baptist Convention (NBC),
Barbers,
Barksdale, Mrs.,
Barnard, Sir Frank,
Barrett, Ethel,
Barthé, Richmond,
Bass, Paul,
Battle Creek Sanitarium,
Bearden, Bessye,
Bearden, Howard,
Beauty culture. See Cosmetics industry;
Hair care products;
Hairdressing
Beck, E. M.,
Bell, Frances,
Bell, James,
Bennett, William S.,
Bercovici, Kenneth,
Berlin Conference (1884–85),
Bethune, Mary McLeod,
Bible, the, hair in,
Birmingham (Alabama),
Birth of a Nation, The (movie),
Bisbee (Arizona),
Bishop, Hutchens C.,
Bitter Sweet (play),
Black entrepreneurs, number of,
Black women
forced to work in South,
Liberty Loan subscribed to by,
lynching of,
Madam Walker as demonstration of ability of,
Madam Walker breaks stereotype of,
married, 1900 rate of employment of,
migration to North by,
Missouri federation of,
number in U.S. of,
wages of,
Blake, Eubie,
Blascoer, Frances,
Bledsoe, Jules,
Bluefield (West Virginia),
Boley (Oklahoma),
Bon Bons, The,
Bond, Scott,
Bonds, Caska,
Booker T. Washington Memorial Fund,
Boston (Massachusetts),
armistice celebrated in,
Boston Chemical Company,
Boston Globe,
Boston Guardian,
Bowen, Cornelia,
Breckenridge, George W.,
Breedlove, Alexander,
death of,
Breedlove, Anjetta,
Breedlove, Gladis,
Breedlove, Hettie Martin,
Breedlove, James,
death of,
Breedlove, Louvenia,
Breedlove, Lucy Crockett,
supported by Madam Walker,
Breedlove, Mary (Alexander’s wife),
Breedlove, Mattie,
Breedlove, Minerva,
death of,
Breedlove, Owen,
death of,
Breedlove, Owen, Jr.,
Breedlove, Samira,
Breedlove, Sarah. See Walker, Madam C. J.
Breedlove, Solomon,
death of,
Breedlove, Thirsapen,
Briand, Aristide,
Brill, Edith,
British military intelligence,
Brockton (Massachusetts),
Brokenburr, Robert Lee,
Brooks, Ellen,
Brooks, W. Sampson,
Brooks, William H.,
Brown, Anita Patti,
Brown, Charlotte Hawkins,
Brown, Clara,
Brown, Hallie Quinn,
Brown, James W.,
Brown, Margaret Tobin (“Unsinkable Molly”),
Brown, S. Joe,
Brown, Sallie,
Brown, Sue Wilson,
Bruce, John,
Bryant, Ida Webb,
Bryant, Perry,
Bryant, Peter James,
Bryant, Sarah Etta Hammond,
Buel, James,
Buffalo (New York),
Bulldozers (vigilantes),
Bundles, A’Lelia, “Prologue” by,
Bundles, A’Lelia Mae Perry (mother of A’Lelia Bundles),
death of,
as executive of Walker firm,
Bundles, S. Henry (A’Lelia Bundles’ father),
Burleigh, Harry T.,
Burlington Railroad,
Burnette, Alice,
Burney, Robert W., plantation of,
Burroughs, Nannie Helen,
Business
Madam Walker’s success in,
number of black entrepreneurs,
See also National Negro Business League (NNBL)
“Buy black,”
Bynner, Witter,
Cairo (Egypt), Lelia Walker in,
Calder, William M.,
California Perfume Company,
Call, Charles,
Cameroon,
Camp Logan (Texas), executions at,
Camp Merritt (New Jersey), black soldiers murdered at,
Camp Sherman (Ohio),
Camp Upton (Long Island, New York),
Cannon, George,
Cape May (New Jersey),
Carnegie, Andrew,
Carrollton (Mississippi),
Carter, Elizabeth,
Carter, Lavinia,
Caruso, Enrico,
Castle, Vernon and Irene,
Central City (Colorado),
Central Committee of Negro College Men,
Century magazine,
Charleston (South Carolina),
Charlton, Melville,
Chicago (Illinois),
blacks in,
Hull-House,
Institutional Church,
Olivet Baptist Church,
Walker salons in,
World’s Columbian Exposition (1893),
YMCA in,
Chicago Broad Ax,
Chicago Defender,
threatened banning of,
Chillicothe (Ohio),
Cholera,
Christian, Virginia,
Churchill, Peter Spencer,
Cincinnati (Ohio),
boycott by Walker agents in,
Circle for Negro War Relief,
Clarion, The (newspaper),
Clemenceau, Georges,
Coconut oil,
Coldwell, Julia,
Coleman, Julia H. P.,
Collier’s Weekly,
Collins, James A.,
/>
Colorado Equal Suffrage Association,
Colorado Springs (Colorado),
Colorado State Federation (NACW),
Colorado Statesman,
Colored American Magazine,
Colored American Review,
Colored Women’s Motor Corps,
Columbia University,
Columbus (Ohio),
Walker salon planned for,
Commercial Club of Indianapolis,
Companions of the Forest,
Continental Chemical Company,
Cook, Will Marion,
Cookman Institute,
Coppedge, Samuel,
Copper sulfate,
Cornish, Samuel,
Cosey, A. B.,
Cosmetics industry
Madam Walker’s entry into,
revolution in,
See also Hair care products; Hairdressing
Costa Rica, Madam Walker in,
On Her Own Ground Page 55