Millner - Madam C.J. Walker Builds a Business

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Text: Denene Millner
Cover and Illustrations: Salini Perera
Cover Lettering: Monique Aimee

This is a work of historical fiction. We have tried to be as accurate as possible, but names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents may have been changed to suit the needs of the story.

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ISBN 978-1-7331761-9-4

Madam C. J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove Walker)

December 23, 1867 - May 25, 1919

United States of America

CHAPTER ONE

M ama parted Sarahs hair into three sections: one in the front, two in the back. Sarah wiggled as Mama started at the root and worked her way to the ends. She loved feeling her mamas fingers in her hair.

Sit still , wiggle worm, Mama said. Sarahs older sister, Louvenia, sat off to the side, scratching her freshly-done braids. She made faces at Sarah until Mama gave Lou a sharp look. Cut it out, Lou. Sweep the porch if you aint got nothing better to do.

Sarah Breedlove, the littlest of five siblings, was her familys hope for the future. Born in 1867, she was the first member of her family who hadnt been born into slavery. Now she would be the first to go to school.

Even though Sarah was only five years old, last harvest season she had bent down right next to Mama, Papa, Lou, and her three older brothers, Alexander, Owen, and James. The whole family had pulled fluffy cotton planted in neat rows that stretched beyond the horizon. Sarah remembered sweating in the hot sun. Sometimes the prickly parts of the plants would poke right through her fingers. But Sarah kept right on working, filling her bag no matter how heavy it got. She knew her family could not survive without it.

After her hair was close to perfect, Mama put Sarah to bed and hummed a lullaby.

You, chile, are going to school tomorrow. No more cotton picking for my baby. Youll be bigger than all these fields. Bigger than the Mississippi River.

The thought made Sarah smile as she drifted off to sleep.

The Breedloves cou ldnt always pay for what they needed, like food, shoes, or home repairs. During the winter, cold air crept through gaps in the rough wooden walls where the slats did not quite meet. But that years cotton harvest had been bountiful. The whole family got new clothes and shoes, and Pa finally bought oil to fix the squeaky cabin door. Best of all, Mama and Papa could finally get married!

It costs a hundred dollars to tie the knot, Mama said, grinning as she shook the rattling jam jar. Guess how many dollars I got here?

A hundred! Sarah and Louvenia chorused, dancing their way around Mamas feet.

They held the ceremony right there in the backyard under the trees. Mamas eyes sparkled as she stood in her best dress, holding Papas hands.

The pastor sweated, fanning himself as he read from his big, black book.

Sarah squeezed Louvenias hand on one side and her brother Alexanders on the other. Pastor looks like he swallowed a bug, she whispered.

Shhh! hissed Louvenia.

Alexanders body shook as he snorted to keep from laughing.

After the ceremony, out came rickety tables and chairs scattered across the grass. The whole neighborhood filled the yard, bringing piles of food that made Sarahs mouth water. An old man strummed on a banjo sitting in the cool shade. Children shrieked with delight, playing hand-clapping games in the field nearby.

Then came Mamas cake: sweet and thick with crinkles at the top. Mama sliced a piece special for Sarah. As she let the sugar dissolve on her tongue, Sarah felt that life, like Mamas cake, was the sweetest it could be.

~

On the first day of school, Mama wrapped up a biscuit in a piece of cloth and tucked it into Sarahs pocket. Then Papa walked her down the road to the schoolhouse.

Sarahs heart beat faster when she let go of Papas hand and stepped into a dimly lit room with wide open windows. She marched right up to her teacher and introduced herself: Hello, maam. Im Sarah Breedlove.

Why hello, Sarah! Its lovely to meet you. Im Mrs. Peacott. The teacher led Sarah to an empty table.

Sarah perched on a wooden bench and picked up her very own piece of chalk.

Sarah loved school. She loved how the chalk slid across the board. She loved learning how to form letters and numbers in wobbly lines at first and then in careful swirls.

But Sarahs education ended as quickly as it had begun.

After only three months, the state of Louisiana decided not to spend money on school for black children like Sarah. Hundreds of children went back to work in the fields, never to become politicians, lawyers, or business owners. But Sarah had learned a valuable lesson in the classroom: to dream of possibility.

CHAPTER TWO

L ouvenia took all that Sarah owned and put it in the middle of a scratchy wool blanket on their parents bed: a metal cup, a small plate, Sarahs Sunday dress, Papas work scarf, and Mamas spoon. These few belongings were all that was left now that Sarahs parents had passed away.

As Louvenia was about to tie the blanket into a sack to make it easier to carry, Sarah grabbed Papas work scarf and held it to her nose. It smelled like his sweat after a long days work, thick and earthy. The scent brought fresh tears to Sarahs eyes.

At eight years old, Sarah became an orphan and had to leave the only home shed ever known to live with her older sister Louvenia, her brother-in-law Jesse, and her baby nephew Willie.