I Design Beauty Celebrates Black History


I remember going through a tough time in my life and was looking for a home for my girls and I. My goal was to be in the same village where they attended School. I eventually found a place for us to live, and was relieved because it was exactly where I wanted to live. I knew at that moment we were where we needed to be. However, I later on learned it was also where I needed to be.

I remember finding out about Madam C.J. Walker's Villa Lewaro mansion through a Facebook group. I couldn't believe that all of these years I've known about this phenomenal woman, now I actually live down the block from where she once lived. I had to see it for myself so one day I went running, and I ended up in front of the Villa Lewaro. It was a beautiful, sunny, picture-perfect day. I stopped in my tracks, took a pic and lingered for a moment to grasp as much inspiration as I could.

As a Black owned business in the beauty industry, I stand on the shoulders of Madam C.J. Walker. She was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867, to enslaved parents Owen and Minerva Breedlove, in Delta, LA. She later changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker, and became the first Black woman millionaire in America. Madam Walker created the "Walker System," which was a set of products to combat hair loss. She used her entrepreneurial spirit and knack for self-promotion to sell her products directly to Black women, and also hired "beauty culturalists" to sell her products.

Madam C.J. Walker
In 1908, Walker opened a factory and a beauty school in Pittsburgh. in 1910, she transferred her business operations to Indianapolis and founded the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. It is said the company profits equated to several million dollars according to today's standards.
Madam C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and an activist. She used her achievement and wealth to give back to the NAACP, the Black YMCA and other charities and was also an advocate to end the lynching of Black people.
As a Black woman entrepreneur, I am grateful for Madam C.J. Walker's grit, tenacity, boldness and courage to create a product for Black women, and a legacy for her family and for those of is in the beauty industry who continues to blaze the trail she ignited. We at I Design Beauty, LLC celebrate this innovator and trailblazer for Black History Month!
Thank you Madam Walker. Because you did, I CAN!
Stacy- CEO of I Design Beauty, LLC