MISGUIDED MAGAZINE SPRING 2020

VOL 4
ENTREPRENUERS
MADAM C.J. WALKER
Madam C. J. Walker created a hair care and cosmetics empire and
was a selfmade millionaire. During the 1890s, she developed a
scalp disorder that caused her to lose much of her hair, and she
began to experiment with both home remedies and store-bought
hair care treatments in an attempt to improve her condition. In
1907, Walker and her husband traveled around the South and
Southeast promoting her products. in 1908 Walker opened a
factory and a beauty school in Pittsburgh, and by 1910, when
Walker transferred her business operations to Indianapolis, the
Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company had profits that
were the modern-day equivalent of several million dollars. At
the time of her death she was considered the wealthiest African
American businesswoman and the wealthiest self-made woman
in America.
Source: biography.com
CHARLES CLINTON SPAULDING,
AARON MCDUFFIE MOORE,
AND JOHN MERRICK
Charles Clinton Spaulding, Aaron McDuffie, and John Merrick
cofounded the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in
1898, now the oldest and largest African American life insurance
company in the United States. At the time, all three men were
members of the Durham community: Spaulding, the general
manager of a grocery company; Moore, a practicing physician; and
Merrick, an entrepreneur with barbershops across Durham. At the
time, Durham was referred to as “Black Wall Street”, notably for
the economic successes blacks were seeing through business. The
company still stands today – with assets estimated at $162 million.
Source: tech.co/news/21-successful-blackentrepreneurs-throughout-history-2015-02
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