On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker
by A'Lelia Bundles

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker
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Book Summary Information

Author: A'Lelia Bundles
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Format: Large Print
Published: 2001-11
ISBN: 078623489X
Number of pages: 747
Publisher: Thorndike Press

Book Reviews of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker

Book Review: On Her Own Ground - Review by Devonne Mckenzie
Summary: 5 Stars

This a wonderfully written biography on Madam C.J. Walker's life. I felt uplifted and inspired by her success as a business woman, as a human rights activist and as a philanthropist. A'Lelia Bundles, Madam Walker's great-great granddaughter, did an excellent job of transporting readers to 1867-1919 to experience the politicial, social and economical issues during Madam Walker's life time.

A'Lelia Bundles was very clear and truthful regarding the fact that Madam Walker did not invent the hot comb. Madam Walker's business provided hair and skin care products to women of color not only in the U.S., also to women in the Caribbean and in Cuba. It is my strong opinion that Madam Walker was one of the first people to develop the concept of self-empowerment and financial independence for women of color because she provided the opportunity to become a Walker sales agent to thousands of women across the U.S. Madam C.J. Walker's work as a human rights activist and her contributions as a philanthropist, impacted a countless number of institutions, organizations and individuals. On Her Own Ground is powerful, moving, enlighting and it is filled with courage!

Summary of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker

On Her Own Ground is the first full-scale, definitive biography of Madam C. J. Walker -- the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist -- by her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.

The daughter of slaves, Madam C. J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then -- with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women -- everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism. Along the way, she formed friendships with great early-twentieth-century politi-cal figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.

On Her Own Ground is not only the first comprehensive biography of one of recent history's most amazing entrepreneurs and philanthropists, it is about a woman who is truly an African American icon. Drawn from more than two decades of exhaustive research, the book is enriched by the author's exclusive access to personal letters, records and never-before-seen photographs from the family collection. Bundles also showcases Walker's complex relationship with her daughter, A'Lelia Walker, a celebrated hostess of the Harlem Renaissance and renowned friend to both Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. In chapters such as "Freedom Baby," "Motherless Child," "Bold Moves" and "Black Metropolis," Bundles traces her ancestor's improbable rise to the top of an international hair care empire that would be run by four generations of Walker women until its sale in 1985. Along the way, On Her Own Ground reveals surprising insights, tells fascinating stories and dispels many misconceptions.


She was the daughter of slaves, married at 14, a widow with a baby daughter at 20. But, by the time that she was 40, Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919) was making as much money as a white corporate executive, thanks to her popular hair-care products for black women and her brilliance at marketing them. She created a workforce of sales agents that gave African American women job options other than being washerwomen or domestics. As her prominence and wealth increased, she became a generous benefactor of black educational institutions, and such a staunch supporter of the antilynching movement that the State Department labeled her a "race agitator" and denied her a passport in 1919. Yet, she had plenty of time for fun, too; she built a lavish mansion (near John D. Rockefeller's) in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, and her daughter Lelia entertained the Harlem Renaissance elite in a spectacular Manhattan townhouse that was renovated with revenues from the company's New York branch. Author A'Lelia Bundles, a veteran television journalist and Madam Walker's descendant, reminds us that controversy over straightened hair has raged within the black community for a century, and that the businesswoman insisted that her aim never was to "de-kink" her customers' tresses, but instead to "grow" them through proper care, frequent washing, and improved nutrition. Bundles seamlessly weaves together her great-great-grandmother's remarkable personal odyssey with the broader outlines of African American struggle in the early 20th century, to create a colorful biography that's also a fascinating social history. --Wendy Smith

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