Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
It’s one thing to learn that your great-great-grandmother was known as the “first self-made female millionaire” in the United States. But when you’re a teenager, you may be more interested in the millionaire’s daughter—who made her own mark as a glamorous influencer during the Harlem Renaissance.
Author and journalist A’Lelia Bundles remembers being captivated by A’Lelia Walker, the only child of hair care entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker.
“I wrote my first report about A’Lelia Walker when I was in high school in 1970 at North Central,” said Bundles, who shares a first name with her great-grandmother. “She fascinated me more at that time than Madam Walker.”
Bundles eventually became an authority on the life of Madam Walker, who was born Sarah Breedlove and marketed an ointment made of petroleum jelly and sulfur that aided in healing women’s scalps. Bundles wrote the 2001 Madam Walker biography, “On Her Own Ground,” that was adapted into the 2020 Netflix series “Self Made.”
But with new book “Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance,” Bundles caps decades of research on one of the key figures of New York City in the 1920s. As an heiress and accomplished marketer of Madam C.J. Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, A’Lelia was high-profile enough to host and promote rising stars of Black culture. Iconic poet Langston Hughes deemed A’Lelia the “joy goddess” of the era.
The passage of time, however, has turned A’Lelia into something of a caricature. Bundles said a major goal of the biography, which arrived in stores on Tuesday, was to debunk a perception of A’Lelia as a “frivolous dilettante.”
“She did like to have fun, but nobody is quite that pathetic,” said Bundles, who will talk about her latest book during a June 22 event at the Madam Walker Legacy Center. “I learned that she really was a patron of the arts. She was supportive, especially of the young writers and musicians of the era.”
Madam Walker moved to Indianapolis in 1910 and established a factory for her products. At the time, A’Lelia was an adult living in Pittsburgh and leading a satellite operation of the business. Mother and daughter eventually made their homes on the East Coast. A’Lelia hosted parties at “the Dark Tower,” a townhouse in Harlem, while Madam Walker built a mansion, Villa Lewaro, in Westchester County north of New York City.
“When people who knew A’Lelia Walker described her, she was ‘royal with royal instincts,’ as my grandfather said,” Bundles said. “Or, ‘A’Lelia Walker didn’t just walk into a room. She swept into a room.’ There was a dignity and a charisma about A’Lelia Walker that I’m trying to convey.”
Although A’Lelia didn’t spend a great deal of time in Indianapolis, letters she sent to the city were crucial to Bundles’ research for the “Joy Goddess” book. Bundles said Freeman Briley Ransom, the esteemed general manager of Walker’s company, served as a hub of correspondence between Madam Walker and A’Lelia.
“I’m very fortunate that A’Lelia and Madam Walker wrote letters to Ransom, and he wrote back to them,” Bundles said. “I can triangulate what was going on.”
Madam Walker died in 1919 at age 51. A’Lelia took over the business and visited Indianapolis when the multi-purpose building planned by her mother, the Walker Theatre, opened on Indiana Avenue in 1927. A’Lelia died in 1931 at age 46.
“Part of my mission is to use the lives of women in my family to reframe and tell another dimension of American history,” Bundles said. “Madam Walker’s life is essentially the Civil War through World War I. A’Lelia Walker’s life is Reconstruction and Jim Crow through the Harlem Renaissance and then the Depression. I can look at those major arcs of American history through their lens.”
Mae Walker, who spent her early years in Noblesville, was adopted by A’Lelia Walker in 1912. Bundles is Mae Walker’s granddaughter.
Bundles said Mae (1898-1945) is remembered for long braided hair that made her an ideal model for the company and also for her dedication to the business.
“She was entrusted with the formula for the Walker hair care product,” Bundles said. “She would be up early before anybody else got to the building to mix up the formula. She was a quiet person who had great inner strength.”
In 2018, the Madam Walker Theatre Center changed its name to the Madam Walker Legacy Center. The “Joy Goddess” book discussion featuring Bundles, 73, is part of Legacy Weekend festivities at the Walker. The Isley Brothers will play a sold-out concert June 20 to kick off the weekend.
Book discussion with A’Lelia Bundles
- When: 5 p.m. June 22
- Where: Madam Walker Legacy Center, 617 Indiana Ave.
- Admission: Free
- Info: Visit madamwalkerlegacycenter.com.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Editor's note: You can comment on IBJ stories by signing in to your IBJ account. If you have not registered, please sign up for a free account now. Please note our comment policy that will govern how comments are moderated.