On Her Own Ground

Published
May 2001
Main Genre
General Fiction General Fiction
Rating

About This Book

Now a Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer, Self Made (formerly titled On Her Own Ground) is the first full-scale biography of "one of the great success stories of American history" (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Madam C.J. Walker—the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist—by her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Sarah Breedlove—who would become known as 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 political figures such as Ida B. Wells, Mary McLeod Bethune, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Booker T. Washington.

Genres & Themes

Buy This Book

Formats & Editions

Browse the different covers, formats, and publication history for this title.

eBook

eBook edition cover
eBook
First Edition May 2001 Scribner ISBN13 9780743215701 ISBN10 0743215702
Buy
eBook edition cover
eBook
May 2001 -- Not Selected ISBN10 B000FC0SI2
Buy