251:, and combined them together. The first floor housed the Walker Hair Parlor, and the second the Lelia College of Beauty Culture, where new cosmeticians were trained to work in the company's shops. A'Lelia lived and entertained in the top three floors. She became president of the company in 1919, upon her mother's death, and remained in that position until her own death in August 1931. She initiated a number of marketing campaigns to promote the company—including a competition among prominent ministers for a Trip to the Holy Land in 1924—and remained the face of the Walker Company, but day-to-day operations were overseen by attorney
270:. A new million-dollar headquarters and manufacturing facility, opened in late 1927 in Indianapolis, placed additional expenses and financial pressure on the operation, and she was forced to sell a great deal of valuable art and antiques. Her adopted daughter Mae Walker became company president from 1931 until her death in 1945. In a fourth-generation succession, Mae's daughter A'Lelia Mae Perry Bundles (b. 1928– d. 1976) succeeded her mother at the head of the company. Today the company's building is known as the
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Her adoptive daughter Fairy Mae Bryant, was born in
November 1898 and was adopted in 1912. She was known as "Mae Walker" and traveled with Madam C. J. Walker as a model and assistant. In November 1923, A'Lelia Walker orchestrated an elaborate "Million Dollar Wedding" (actually closer to $ 40,000) for
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to live with her mother's three brothers. Her mother married John Davis in 1894 and divorced in 1903. In 1906, her mother married
Charles Joseph Walker, a newspaper advertising salesman, and became an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetic creams. A'Lelia grew up in St. Louis and attended
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Walker also founded the Harlem
Debutantes Club. She attended Knoxville College and was a member of St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem where she married Dr. Wiley Wilson. supported local missionary work among Baptist women in New York City. She attended a Baptist church and served on various
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Walker was married three times: to John
Robinson, a hotel waiter, from whom she separated about 1911 and divorced in 1914; to Dr. Wiley Wilson in 1919; and to Dr. James Arthur Kennedy, in 1926, whom she divorced just a few months before her death in 1931.
549:, divorced Jackson in 1926 and married Attorney Marion R. Perry in September 1927. When Walker died in 1931, Mae took over the company until her death in 1945, when she was succeeded by her daughter, A'Lelia Mae Perry Bundles.
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In
October 1927, she converted a floor of the home into The Dark Tower, a cultural salon that became legendary as one of the gathering places of the era, a place where Harlem's talented artists socialized with their
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Dossett, Kate (June 11, 2009). "'I Try to Live
Somewhat in Keeping with my Reputation as a Wealthy Woman': A'Lelia Walker and the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company".
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fraternity and the first black architect licensed in New York State. Almost from the time of her arrival in Harlem in 1913, her dinner parties, dances and
703:"Wealthiest Negro Woman's Suburban Mansion; Estate at Irvington, Overlooking Hudson and Containing All the Attractions That a Big Fortune Commands"
973:. Driskell, David C., Lewis, David Levering, 1936-, Willis, Deborah, 1948-, Studio Museum in Harlem. New York: The Studio Museum in Harlem. 1987.
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During the 1920s she hosted many musicians, actors, writers, artists, political figures and socialites in her
Manhattan townhouse. The elegant
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headquarters. During the 1920s, A'Lelia Walker immersed herself in Harlem's dynamic social life as a patron of the arts and hostess of some of
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1015:"Royalty and Blue-blooded Gentry Entertained by A'Lelia Walker at Lewaro and Townhouse, Amsterdam News, August 26, 1931, p. 1
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Langston Hughes called her death "The end of the gay times of the New Negro era in Harlem." He later wrote in his book,
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mansion which she had built for her mother in 1916 to 1918, again designed by Tandy. Villa Lewaro was named for Walker (
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A'Lelia Walker counted among her friends many accomplished
African American musicians. She developed an early love of
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to create the interior. She also entertained at her pied-Ă -terre at 80 Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem, and at
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people at a time when there were few other social options available. While she herself was not known to be
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222:(née Breedlove) McWilliams. Her father died when she was two years old, and she moved with her mother to
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In the 1920s, Walker spent four months traveling throughout Europe and elsewhere, visiting
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counterparts as well as
European and African royalty. She commissioned Austrian designer
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879:"Writing Biography: An Update on "The Joy Goddess of Harlem" « A'Lelia Bundles"
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in
Tennessee before entering the family business, having taken the Walker name.
1043:""Self Made" Presents A'Lelia Walker as Queer—but That's Not Entirely Accurate"
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committees, occasionally speaking for women's days and professional events.
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Madam C.J. Walker Official Website A'Lelia Walker Biographical Information
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in the United States and one of the first African American millionaires.
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767:"Who Was Madam C.J. Walker's Daughter A'Lelia And What Happened To Her?"
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Walker Company sales began to suffer in 1929, with the beginning of the
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803:"A'Lelia Nelson, 82, President Of a Black Cosmetics Company"
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told her after a visit to the property that the newly built
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and patron of the arts. She was the only surviving child of
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On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker
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mansion reminded him of the houses of his native country.
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Mae's marriage to Dr. Gordon Jackson. Mae, a graduate of
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Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker
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In an oral history for the Lesbian Herstory Archives
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Jones, Alexis and Siclait, Aryelle (March 27, 2020)
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373:. Live music – from classical and ragtime to
314:musicians gathered at Tom Turpin's Rosebud Cafe on
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189:; June 6, 1885 – August 17, 1931) was an American
298:at the AME church she and her mother attended in
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389:They provided a safe, welcoming environment for
239:A'Lelia Walker ran the East Coast operations of
969:Harlem Renaissance : art of Black America
557:A'Lelia Walker died on August 17, 1931, of a
1067:Jones, Opinion by Roxanne (March 25, 2020).
433:– a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m)
214:A'Lelia Walker was born Lelia McWilliams in
302:was a classically trained opera singer and
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723:"A'Lelia Walker | American businesswoman"
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341:included well known Harlem figures like
306:. She grew up in the neighborhood where
235:Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company
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513:. In Paris she spent time with dancer
255:and factory manager Alice Kelly at the
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1025:A Guide to the Sterling Houston Papers
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956:City of Long Branch Death Certificate
859:from the original on November 5, 2009
801:Martin, Douglas (February 14, 2001).
218:, in 1885, the daughter of Moses and
1190:20th-century American businesspeople
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263:'s most notable social gatherings.
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855:: The Generations Network. 2009.
822:Ryan, Hugh (September 22, 2015).
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329:building had been designed by
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1205:American women art collectors
906:The Big Sea: An Autobiography
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908:. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
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605:and gladioli onto the site.
449:binson) after Italian tenor
357:, as well as members of the
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272:Madam Walker Theatre Center
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1125:Journal of Women's History
675:Madam Walker Legacy Center
622:, a musical about Walker.
276:National Historic Landmark
904:Hughes, Langston (1940).
316:St. Louis's Market Street
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1200:Deaths from hypertension
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567:Long Branch, New Jersey
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1001:: CS1 maint: others (
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216:Vicksburg, Mississippi
58:Vicksburg, Mississippi
16:American businesswoman
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175:(great granddaughter)
1105:"A'Lelia Walker"
1031:Special Collections.
938:on December 14, 2013
885:on December 14, 2013
618:and Lary Neal wrote
577:in the midst of the
529:. She also visited
294:in part because the
241:her mother's company
136: 1926;
122:James Arthur Kennedy
1180:American socialites
1137:10.1353/jowh.0.0082
591:Mary McLeod Bethune
559:cerebral hemorrhage
455:Irvington-on-Hudson
427:Irvington, New York
347:J. Rosamand Johnson
224:St. Louis, Missouri
1195:Madam C. J. Walker
808:The New York Times
708:The New York Times
670:Madam C. J. Walker
431:Westchester County
359:Harlem Renaissance
343:James Reese Europe
195:Madam C. J. Walker
160:Madam C. J. Walker
1149:Project MUSE
1089:Writing Biography
918:U. S. Census 1910
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595:Woodlawn Cemetery
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415:Greenwich Village
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101:entrepreneur
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942:December 8,
889:December 8,
863:November 6,
633:miniseries
610:The Big Sea
583:Prohibition
523:Mistinguett
519:Paul Poiret
507:Addis Ababa
483:Monte Carlo
419:Paul Frankl
199:millionaire
87:Occupations
1164:Categories
980:0810910993
686:References
521:, actress
435:Italianate
310:and other
210:Early life
151:Mae Walker
50:1885-06-06
1145:144675578
1052:April 21,
997:cite book
833:April 21,
732:April 21,
575:champagne
499:Jerusalem
327:limestone
300:St. Louis
282:Patronage
274:and is a
156:Parent(s)
109:Spouse(s)
99:hair-care
989:13945412
857:Archived
643:See also
625:Actress
535:Ethiopia
503:Djibouti
399:bisexual
361:such as
304:organist
148:Children
631:Netflix
620:A'Lelia
603:dahlias
571:lobster
547:Atlanta
531:Zewditu
395:lesbian
339:soirees
312:ragtime
261:the era
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511:London
509:, and
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369:, and
249:Harlem
185:(born
168:Family
80:, U.S.
60:, U.S.
1141:S2CID
495:Cairo
475:Paris
445:lker
391:queer
379:blues
323:brick
292:opera
220:Sarah
132:(
128:
1116:2010
1054:2020
1003:link
985:OCLC
975:ISBN
944:2013
891:2013
865:2009
835:2020
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581:and
573:and
491:Rome
479:Nice
441:lia
377:and
375:jazz
353:and
325:and
290:and
138:div.
66:Died
40:Born
1133:doi
1073:CNN
828:NPR
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383:NPR
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