Madam C.J. Walker: First Self-Made Millionaire, Part 2

Indianapolis, Indiana. In time, her local business brought in enough of a salary that she was able to quit working as a laundress. Her level of success was already admirable, and Sarah had no intention of keeping it at a local level. She knew there was a growing national market that needed to be tapped into, but she lacked the business knowledge to pursue it. Opportunity came knocking on her door. She met Charles Joseph Walker. He was a Denver newspaperman who took a liking to Sarah. They married in 1906.

TIMELINE
1910: In 1910, Madam Walker decided to consolidate the Denver and Pittsburgh offices and make Indianapolis the central headquarters of the Walker Manufacturing Company.
1916: In 1916, Madam Walker commissioned an Italian-style villa to be built in Irvington, New York.
1917: In July of 1917, the news broke that a white mob murdered more than three dozen blacks during a riot in East St. Louis, Illinois.
1918: A Republican representative from St. Louis, Leonidas C. Dyer, introduced the Dyer anti-lynching bill in 1918.
1931: Alila continued living in the mansion until 1931, when she died of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by hypertension.
2018: December of 2018 marked the centennial of Villa Loaro, as well as the date the New Voices Foundation acquired the property.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Indianapolis is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 28 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 180 (Hagerstown, Indiana)

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

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