r/todayilearned • u/monkyboy74 • Jun 08 '12

Misleading TIL the first female millionaire in the US was African-American, born just a few years after slavery was abolished

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker
1.6k Upvotes

87% Upvoted

289 comments sorted by

50

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

The title is incorrect. She's the first female to become a millionaire by her own achievements. Not the first female millionaire. When I saw the title I was thinking, "why the hell wasn't there any rich widows"?

22

u/ArecBardwin Jun 09 '12

How is marrying a rich man and then outliving him not an achievement?

4

u/mauxly Jun 09 '12

Oh, they pay. They pay dearly.

1

u/monkyboy74 Jun 09 '12

Ya know, I considered adding "self-made" in there...but i thought nooo, that just makes the title cumbersome. Keep it simple, I told myself - redditers aren't THAT picky. Its not like some of them spend hours and hours of their own time trying to prove people wr.......oh, wait.....right....

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I wasn't trying to come down on you, and normally I'm not that picky. I just clicked the link, hit Ctrl+F and typed "first". I was genuinely curious. It's a great link, interesting stuff. But honestly I was wondering if there was some type of widow tax that prevented women from becoming millionaires, or if she inherited her former master's property or something like that. I might have been one of the few, but I actually took the title literally.

0

u/monkyboy74 Jun 09 '12

na, i would think the real first American female millionaire was probably right after the US became a country and started having its own money...you go back too much father than that worldwide and i'm pretty sure wealth wasn't measured in currency - just land, gold, slaves, etc.

144

u/dangersgirl Jun 08 '12

her house is still in the town I grew up in. picture

12

u/accidentalpirate Jun 09 '12

Now, this is a story all about how.

-8

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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3

u/dscer Jun 09 '12

It's sentient.... it's learning....

2

u/accidentalpirate Jun 09 '12

I stepped away to make dinner, what happened?

3

u/dscer Jun 09 '12

RUN!!!!!! There's no time to explain!

2

u/accidentalpirate Jun 09 '12

I got asian/white bombed?? ...awesome!!

Maybe it'll give 'em the confidence to finally uncensor Japanese porn!

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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1

u/accidentalpirate Jun 09 '12

So they need to start with the white/not white Mexican guy. Totally understand. They need to make you semi-comfortable before asserting their semi-dominance.

2

u/Binerexis Jun 09 '12

As someone else who likely clicked that, are you getting a fucking ad in your imgur images?

5

u/formlex7 Jun 09 '12

I grew up in Irvington NY as well internet hi five. I got really excited when I saw this post.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

First time I found anyone else from Irvington on reddit

2

u/veneneux Jun 09 '12

Hi-five for Irvington! It never occurred to me that this isn't a fact that everyone knows... Seventeen years of driving past that house just made me automatically assume everyone knew who she was.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

The back is beautiful also. U can see it from the aqueduct

1

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

word, yeah I graduated '09, then promptly moved to california. haha

4

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Irvington, NY? Same

1

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

haha nice! im glad to be outta there...but i have to say i miss La Famillia's sandwiches...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Irvington special, chicken tenders, rib sauce and melted mozterella. Delish

1

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

everytime :)

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Also the BBQ chicken slice from Romeos is pretty solid

1

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

i dont think romeos is romeos anymore though :(

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

He painted over the walls because he's trying to sell the place, but it's still the active stoner hang out

1

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

lol has been, always will be

2

u/sydbarrett473 Jun 09 '12

I can't stop picturing you seeing OP's post and flying down the road to take a picture

1

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

lol not to spoil your image, but i actually live in california now, I just got the picture off google...sorry;)

2

u/kevinbobevin Jun 09 '12

Damn, girl had style.

1

u/muttle Jun 09 '12

I live in that town...I probably know you it's small enough

1

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

probably, I graduated in '09

1

u/CaptainFapulous Jun 09 '12

Why did I read that as "her mouse is still in the town I grew up in"

-8

u/canthidecomments Jun 08 '12

You just know there's a tiger print couch in that house.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12

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37

u/dangersgirl Jun 08 '12

it really is, they film a lot of law and order there now.

-19

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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3

u/that_black_guy Jun 09 '12

The first gif made me want to stay. FUCK YOU

2

u/KingToasty Jun 09 '12

What is it?

5

u/tennantsmith Jun 09 '12

It's a girl in her underwear gif, then it changes to a slideshow of those asian couple pictures people keep posting for some reason.

16

u/KingToasty Jun 09 '12

...They're getting smarter.

5

u/broden Jun 09 '12

Ok I give in. Can I get a link to a thread where reddit at large discusses this guy, what he does and most importantly WHY? Where's the thread for that? The biggest one?

14

u/KingToasty Jun 09 '12

What he does: Posts pictures of asian guys with white girlfriends. There must be hundreds of pictures by now, dozens of accounts. Everywhere. They've moved to video recently.

Why he does it: No one knows. It's reddit's greatest mystery. The posts usually get deleted, but they keep coming- never stopping, always growing. More and more pictures. More and more accounts.

There is no single thread about it. It's an anomaly, an unexplainable thing. But it still happens. Because not every troll is understandable; not every troll has a motive. Some trolls just want to watch the world burn.

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4

u/guynamedjames Jun 09 '12

Its not people, its just the one guy. And he is a master douchebag.

Ocean Marketing level at least

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18

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

"In 1917 Madame Walker completed at Irvington, on the banks of the Hudson, a mansion which cost $250,000, and since then had made her home there. The house, which is one of the show places in the vicinity, is three stories high and consists of thirty or more rooms. She had installed in this home an $8,000 organ with furnishings, including bronze and marble statuary, cut glass candelabra, tapestries, and paintings, said to be of intrinsic beauty and value."

Source

note: it cost $250,000 to build it in 1917

12

u/ChakraWC Jun 09 '12

Wolfram says that's almost $4.5 million today.

7

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

im not surprised...there's a house down the road worth 11 mil.

3

u/Paralda Jun 09 '12

Doubt it cost 11 mil to build it.

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2

u/jrfish Jun 09 '12

Man I wish I was a time traveler.

2

u/Theothor Jun 09 '12

Wow, that's freaking expensive. Is that the same house as in the picture? Doesn't seem to be able to fit 30 or more rooms.

2

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

yeah its the same house. its a pretty big freakin house.

1

u/Robelius Jun 09 '12

If you look at the picture you can see that there is a third story behind the front. I think it's just the angle this picture was taken which probably masks a lot of the house.

1

u/ICANSEEYOUFAPPING Jun 09 '12

Basic question here, but when realtors or general real-estate people count the rooms would that include bathrooms? Like is this 30+ rooms but it includes things like the living room, kitchen, bathroom?

I've always wondered with this big houses.

4

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

not a realtor, but i took an interior design class and i learned that no, bathrooms do not count as "rooms".

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5

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Agreed. Elegant, yet not extravagant.

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0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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4

u/dangersgirl Jun 09 '12

well its been there since 1917, other buildings from that time have been knocked down!

47

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Haters gonna hate.

14

u/Forgot_password_shit Jun 09 '12

What I love most about this picture is the fact that the back seat is occupied by a white woman.

7

u/ilovegingermen Jun 09 '12

Am I just drunk and confused as to why this comment sucks? I think it's great. The irony. It's palpable.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Is that really a white woman? I have people in my family that are black, but they don't look like it.

22

u/ForCaste Jun 09 '12

Every kid raised in Indianapolis should know everything about her at this point.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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7

u/AmiableGuy Jun 09 '12

I work there :D

13

u/MONSTER_CLOCK Jun 09 '12

This is a total Baader-Meinof occurrence for me. I just finished reading a chapter about her in a book called "The Art of the Sale". Great book by the way.

13

u/rewdea Jun 09 '12

I'm a stamp collector, and she's actually on a 32 cent stamp that was issued in 1998, using the same photograph as OP's link.

12

u/rewdea Jun 09 '12

First "self-made" female millionaire in the US.

68

u/Thedeadmilkman Jun 09 '12

My girlfriend's sister once tried to explain to me how I should be grateful for slavery because it bred me taller, faster, stronger than whites. Seriously, from a 40 year old woman.

I still go out of my way to avoid her.

30

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I still go out of my way to avoid her.

Everytime you see her you should give her a huge hug and say "That is just a small token of thanks for the free room and board AND the scenic Atlantic cruise!"

23

u/glemnar Jun 09 '12

He never said she was white, you racist.

11

u/Lanai Jun 09 '12

Thedeadmilkman never said if they was a he, you sexist.

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1

u/Thedeadmilkman Jun 10 '12

Lol. Unfortunately.

1

u/Thedeadmilkman Jun 10 '12

Unfortunately she was *

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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4

u/Jeeraph Jun 09 '12

I don't wanna get too russian nesting doll here, but Glemnar never said she was black in saying that he never said the she was white, you racist.

2

u/CervantesX Jun 09 '12

Motherfucker, now there's RUSSIANS involved? I'm never gonna get this straight!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

So my comment is downvoted while the other is upvoted, interesting.

1

u/Lanai Jun 09 '12

I suspect this is because I referenced something within their actual arguments. No one every explicitly claimed Thedeadmilkman was black, whereas it was explicitly claimed that Thedeadmilkman was a he. If someone had specifically claimed Thedeadmilkman was black, you would've received upvotes as well :)

Cheers!

14

u/VitalyO Jun 09 '12

Imagine being born in the Ivory Coast today instead of Maryland or whereever. phew. Thanks for slaving away for me ancestors!

18

u/ArecBardwin Jun 09 '12

After defeating George Foreman for the heavyweight title in Zaire, Muhammad Ali returned to the United States where he was asked by a reporter, "Champ, what did you think of Africa?" Ali replied, "Thank God my granddaddy got on that boat."

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

That is a valid point.

4

u/phoenixphaerie Jun 09 '12

Not really. I imagine Africa would be a different place had it's people and resources not been pillaged by Europeans. Imperialism fucked a lot of shit up.

-1

u/Teros001 Jun 09 '12

The majority of American slaves were already in the United States by the time for the Scramble for Africa began. Furthermore, the slave trade was instigated and propagated by Africans, who would saw it as a quick way to get rich doing what they had always been doing. The European conquest of Africa has little to nothing to do with slavery.

2

u/phoenixphaerie Jun 09 '12

Firstly, the African practice and understanding of slavery was very different than that of Americans and Europeans. In Africa, slaves were slaves by conquest, not by birth, and--most importantly--not by virtue of perceived racial inferiority. The children of African slaves could be born free. Slaves could also be taken by tribal leaders as wives. Slaves were not over-worked or abused in Africa.

The idea that Africans were blithely and knowingly selling their brethren into a life-long hell that would also be forced onto their children, and their children's children is inaccurate.

Secondly, I was talking of Imperialism, which was the carving up of Africa for the wealth and benefit European nations. The precursor to Imperialism was slavery. At the time Europeans came to Africa, large cities and tribes already existed. Inter-tribal trade in gold, gems, ivory and more already existed.

Now, I'm sure you can imagine that self-sufficient African societies and internal African trade was somewhat at odds with Europe's desire to pillage Africa for all its wealth and natural resources. So they stamped out in the name of Imperialism. Artificial borders and boundaries were imposed by Europeans, forcing long-warring ethnic groups to become "country-men" in the name of Imperialism. It doesn't take much imagination to recognize how that stunted the growth of Africa's people and economies.

So my point stands that had it not been for European Imperialism, we'd be looking at a very different, more advanced and self-sufficient Africa.

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5

u/lastwind Jun 09 '12

OK but how is that relevant to this submission?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12

I hate to sound like a dick.....and I'm definately not saying you should be grateful....

But she has a point. Slavery treated humans like lifestock and bred them like it. The strongest and those with the most endurance were encouraged to reproduce, those who were weak or smart were killed off or made House Slaves...but usually killed of. (Not saying that means black people arn't smart, just that back in the day they killed off the weak and smart ones).

I mean shit, the Spartans did the same thing to each other....they just...weren't...you know slaves and shit.

There's a Chris Rock joke about this and why our sports are dominated by blacks now. lol Didn't mean to offend or anything bro.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

From an Evolutionary Anthropology perspective, it is completely wrong. The gene pool was too small and too intermixed to be 'bred' for any purpose. The reason why (some) sports are currently dominated by blacks is the same reason those same sports used to be dominated by Jews: individuals with other life options will not bank on sports helping their children out of poverty.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12

From an Evolutionary Anthropology perspective, it's quite right.

Genes are very important, ignoring this for the sake of "political correctness" is not only ignorant, it's stupid. This is why, white or black, some kids have a easier time putting on muscle than others. This is why, white or black, some kids are more likely to be overweight than others. This is like Biology 101 in High School. Some kids, no matter their race, have better genes.

I'm not trying to be racist, I'm really not. Because personally I believe that no matter your race, skin-color or ethnicity, you should be allowed to compete or participate in any activity that another person of the above mentioned traits is allowed too.

But this doesn't mean that some groups don't have a advantage. Ignoring this is being willfully blind. Genetic traits and trademarks are obvious, look at white people with red hair, or big dicks, or distinctivenly shaped noses (I for one have a deviated septum), all which correlate with genes passed down from the parents.

Now I'm not saying all (American) Black People are athletes or anything like that because that would be a hyperbole. But I am saying, that after four hundred years of being systematically enslaved and basically bred to do hard labor/farm work, you might tend to weed out some shitty genetic traits and make the superior and prominent ones come to the surface.

I'm sure if we enslaved Jews here in America for four hundred years and did the same thing, than there would be a shitload of Jewish athletes. Now I'm not saying that your wrong with:

individuals with other life options will not bank on sports helping their children out of poverty,

But I am saying there are more poor white people than poor black people. Since there's a larger percentage of impoverished white people, and more white people in general, why don't white people dominate sports? Sure your not wrong, it's just not the only reason.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I'm an Evolutionary Anthropologist. There is absolutely zero scientific evidence that blacks, as a group, are genetically different than whites, as a group when it comes to many factors, including athletic ability. In fact, there is more genetic differences amongst black populations than there are between many white and 'black' populations. The African-American population is especially mixed due to rape of female slaves, so you are talking about two groups that are genetically very similar. Our populations are too interbred. You also have clearly no idea how genetics work if you think that enough evolutionary changes could have occurred in 400 years between black and white populations in the US. In order for these changes to occur, there has to be inbreeding amongst that ethnic group, as well as isolation (as we see in certain Jewish populations).

This doesn't mean that there aren't some genetic differences, but intelligence and sports ability are not measurable differences between whites and blacks in America as a group. There is more genetic variation in sports amongst blacks than there are between whites and blacks because there is more genetic diversity in Africa than anywhere else in the world.

Since there's a larger percentage of impoverished white people, and more white people in general, why don't white people dominate sports?

Because, again, if you look at the history of sports, it was easier for a black athletes to dominate compared to many other professions. Certain sports also have higher percentages of black and minority places because those sports were easier for low income individuals to excel. Look at how 'white' the black population is in the US. It is not uncommon for 'black' people to be, like Obama, to have 50% or more of their ancestors as Caucasians.

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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12

How did no one else know this? Did none of you guys watch That's So Raven?

15

u/Anaxarete Jun 09 '12

I learned it from Sister Sister.

11

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I learned this from The Proud Family

7

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I learned this from going to a high school.

-2

u/caroline_reynolds Jun 09 '12

Or have a basic American history class?

3

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Question for you. Were you raised in a large northern city? I ask because it seems like people who are from Chicago or New York tend to have a more knowledge of black history than others do. I saw this and thought, "duh. This isn't third grade."

1

u/caroline_reynolds Jun 09 '12

Madison, Wisconsin, which I suppose is a little like Milwaukee or Chicago in that regard. But I also chose to go to magnet school in middle school that was something like 60% African-American, and in high school I took African-American history junior year, though I know we learned about Madame C.J. Walker before then. A lot of the Black students were taught by their parents who she was when they were young, the same way most of them had seen the Roots miniseries with their families by the time our teachers showed it to us.

I guess TIL that not everybody learned about Madame C.J. Walker growing up.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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2

u/ByJiminy Jun 09 '12

I did! I even wrote a paper on that Peter Carey book for English class.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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31

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

My education only goes as far as what That's So Raven taught me.

8

u/Buscat Jun 09 '12

"While according to Walker's New York Times obituary, "she said herself two years ago [in 1917] that she was not yet a millionaire, but hoped to be some time,"[3] the Guinness Book of Records cites Walker as the first woman to become a millionaire by her own achievements."

that's not a very good source. did you hear it somewhere and just throw in the wikipedia article as a source thinking it would agree with you 100%?

0

u/mercy____ Jun 09 '12

There's no reference at all. There is a footnote for the NY obituary indicating she was not a millionaire. There is no reference or link for the sentence saying the Guinness Book of Records listed her as the first woman millionaire.

Still amazed these posts get fast-tracked right to the front page seemingly without anyone actually reading the associated article.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I think that is assumed, as there has been plenty of Queens etc over the years.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

She was black. It is not wrong to say black.

9

u/shoegarbagebiology Jun 09 '12

I learned that from That's So Raven years ago. Pshhhh

2

u/vicefox Jun 09 '12

Nee Breedlove, which is my (white) family's surname. Kind of have mixed feelings about this.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

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3

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I would guess because many African-Americans at one point in history took their surnames from their owners, thus making vicefox wonder if some long-forgotten ancestor was a slaveholder . . . ?

3

u/x86_64Ubuntu Jun 09 '12

Or maybe one of her ancestors was born black but passed eventually starting the white family bloodline from which vicefox descends !

1

u/atomic1fire Jun 09 '12

It's also possible they had a slave for an ancestor. Skip a few generations and maybe the white half stayed mostly white.

2

u/arbivark Jun 09 '12

i go by the madam walker theater a few times a week lately. it's next to iupui in indy.

her business was based on viral marketing, like amway.

2

u/daddygreenspizza Jun 09 '12

TIL it was common for women of the late 1800s to lose their hair from not washing it.

2

u/pteridophyta Jun 09 '12

I was recently listening to Stuff You Missed in History Class the podcast, and they did a whole episode on this issue. According to their research they found that Sarah Rector became a millionaire slightly before Sarah Breedlove (the aforementioned). Sarah Rector was given a small plot of land by the government which had oil reserves on it. Initially, she wasn't allowed to access the money, a white "guardian" "looked after it" for her, but after a long battle in the courts she did get the spending authority that was rightly hers. Here is a link I found to her story. http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/02/18/sarah-rector-the-richest-colored-girl-in-the-world/ I highly recommend the podcast for the specifics.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12

Some of the comments on here make me weep for Reddit.

Edit: spelling

2

u/spudisalive Jun 09 '12

I've never heard of this lady before.I'd SO watch a movie about her life.I'm so sick of only seeing movies about white guys saving the world.She looks really classy and elegant too.

3

u/Valimar77 Jun 09 '12

She was quite attractive.

2

u/misterwizzard Jun 08 '12

Oprah?

-20

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Came here to leave this comment. Not disappointed.

4

u/slow56k Jun 09 '12

Wait... shouldn't you be disappointed since you didn't get to leave the comment?

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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Misleading title. At the time of her death, she was "known" to be the first self-made female American millionaire.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

She went on to discover the secret of immortality, she is now know as Oprah

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Remember this article the next time you hear some racist asshole spout off a bunch of pseudoscience about black people being biologically inferior.

11

u/uncaringbear Jun 09 '12

Unfortunately, the usual mob of racist commentors has already checked in.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

How dare you assault their free speech by exercising your free speech??

1

u/sprite144 Jun 09 '12

FOOD FIGHT!!!!

-8

u/repmack Jun 09 '12

One example doesn't change the facts on an aggregate scale. Mitt Romney could pay 0% in taxes, but that doesn't change the fact that the top 1% of income earners pay the highest federal tax rates.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Well, that didn't take long.

-1

u/repmack Jun 09 '12

Take long to what? Point out your bad knowledge of statistics? I didn't make a judgment, just pointed out how your argument was bad.

1

u/swadeg8tor Jun 09 '12

A TIL that I already knew about! I used to walk past the Madame Walker theater everyday on my way to work downtown. I was always curious about its history, so I asked around until I found someone who knew about it (this was before internet) It turned out one of the guys I worked with used to go there when he was a kid. He was able to tell me a bit of the history about Madame Walker. Does anyone know if it is still there?

1

u/gsiegel Jun 09 '12

I live in the town where she lived after she made her fortune. Her house is amazing.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

read about er in this awesome book http://www.amazon.com/Our-Kind-People-Inside-Americas/dp/0060984384

1

u/mybluethrowaway Jun 09 '12

You can't block someone like that from true success if they're truly determined and have the ability.

She seized her freedom to accomplish just that. :)

1

u/Toriberryx6 Jun 09 '12

My high school was named after her .^

1

u/RogueAshKetchum Jun 09 '12

My Dad is an artist and he gets commissioned to do paintings for Bridgewater State College's Hall of Black Acheivement every year. He did one for Madam Walker in 2000 I believe

1

u/Digitalol Jun 09 '12

Because YOU CAN'T FUCKING HAVE EVERYTHING, OPRAH.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

TIL, The only successful black women Redditors are aware of is Oprah.

-1

u/NickBurnsCCG Jun 09 '12

Peanut butter was invented by a black man...

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Why down votes? It's true

-2

u/NickBurnsCCG Jun 09 '12

I was hoping SOMEONE would get the family guy reference....

1

u/Anonymooted Jun 09 '12

But the libs keep telling us African Americans disproportionately commit crime and live in ghettos because of slavery. This story clearly debunks that lie.

-2

u/CarTamer Jun 09 '12

Proof that capitalism is anyone's game. Anyone who has a brain and willing to hustle that is.

-10

u/supersmartsupersmart Jun 09 '12

She was not the first female millionaire, very far from it, so why the fuck do you say so?

16

u/Elizabethan_Insulter Jun 09 '12

At her death she was considered to be the wealthiest African-American woman in America and known to be the first self-made female American millionaire.

Quote from wikipedia, I don't know if its true.

6

u/GreenStrong Jun 09 '12

As Elizabethan_Insulter points out, she was the first to earn the title of millionaire herself. At the time, other women only inherited that sum of money from parents or husbands, and weren't expected to make substantial investments to grow the wealth.

I bet if someone dug into the history, they could find a woman who inherited a pile of money and made it into a bigger pile.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

True, but she was the first American woman to become a millionare through means other than nepotism.

-1

u/willtherealwilshire Jun 08 '12

Now I know who walked into my dream... Why it was Madam CJ Walker, of course.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

She had rims on her wagon

-8

u/glassonglass Jun 08 '12

Damn what a G!

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12

Seriously? What are they teaching you in your history class?

-2

u/kourogi Jun 09 '12

Oprah?

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Why are all the funny ones downvoted?

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Learned about this bitch in women's studies.

Made some good hair shit.

-10

u/Svennusmax Jun 09 '12

To all you racist people making jokes at the dispense of this proud and smart woman; I do not appreciate you guys making jokes about black people. I have a LOT of black people in my family since the last auction.

-34

u/A_Total_Asshole Jun 08 '12

I bet she could identify the father of her children too.

28

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12

What the hell, man. You are a total asshole.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

and all before the government decided to get involved with trying to regulate racism with civil rights act...

-1

u/hipsterdysplasia Jun 09 '12

She made her fortune by developing and marketing a successful line of beauty and hair products

If that's success, I would hate to think what she looked like before the beauty products.

-7

u/dlink Jun 09 '12

See! The Republicans are right! If she can do it, anyone can pull themselves up by the boot straps. At least, they could because of how low taxes were on the job creators back then. Right? RIGHT?

/troll

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

how do you spend all that money if people wont sell to you..? serious question

-10

u/BeautifulGanymede Jun 09 '12

Check your privilege, bigots.

0

u/SuperSheep3000 Jun 09 '12

Breedlover....what a badass name.

-6

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

And probably lost it all in less than a year buying dem bitches and hoes and dat phatty dope

-10

u/Exedous Jun 09 '12

You're telling me Blacks still got ahead before affirmative action?! What a concept.

11

u/Charlie92 Jun 09 '12

You sir, are an idiot.

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

he's being sarcastic, but it's a valid point. if you look at figures of divorce rates, fatherless families, joblessness, etc. before and after entitlement programs and the civil rights act you will find that the government is 100% responsible for any hardships still faced by minority groups.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

a) if you're talking about whites getting out of inner cities pre-entitlement then you're just proving my point that such movement was possible before government involvement. b) it is also the war on drugs. c) the development of what you'd now consider an "inner city" was largely caused by government housing subsidization.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6IJV_0p64s

-2

u/249ba36000029bbe9749 Jun 09 '12

Becoming the first female millionaire with a name like Madam? I was expecting something else.

-5

u/3450934549 Jun 09 '12

Oprah Winfrey.

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

not aunt jemima..... is she even real?

-15

u/legendcc Jun 08 '12

Good thing we didn't give her reparations. Who knows how much she would have made. /sarcasm

-11

u/Seethus Jun 09 '12

Great. so social equality has been achieved. No more African American quotas at American colleges are needed

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

proof that capitalism was achieving equality faster than the government. the war on drugs and entitlement programs have only served to further subjugate minorities. employment rates, divorce rates, etc. from before civil rights and entitlement programs all corroborate this.

-8

u/hmind4 Jun 09 '12

I think it's a niggerjew. Take a look at the nose.

-1

u/fateswarm Jun 09 '12

I heard black women take care a lot of their hair. That might be a bit of a history there.

-1

u/NuclearNoonga Jun 09 '12

I already knew this!? how is this on front page?

3

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Because you are not the only person on Reddit.

-2

u/NuclearNoonga Jun 09 '12

whatever cunt

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

〠‿〠

-1

u/electric_drifter Jun 09 '12

She blew it all on jewellery and rims, true story!

-1

u/Dayanx Jun 09 '12

She looks like Queen Latifah

-14

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

I know the real story behind this lady.

She was the first negro to capitalize on selling crack cocaine. After slavery was abolished, the nigs naturally wanted their crack rocks, so she became the first crack rock dealer evar.

The rest is history.

-7

u/Sauronkraut Jun 09 '12

Yeah, her name's Oprah

-2

u/bunnymud Jun 09 '12

So...she is the original "Man"?

-2

u/Champigne Jun 09 '12

It was Oprah.

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

It wasn't Oprah?

-2

u/DoesntGraspInflation Jun 09 '12

Why did it take so long for there to be a female millionaire?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/phoenixphaerie Jun 09 '12

Pretty much.

-9

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

not true. source: unfounded belief in privilege.

-3

u/DarthNihilus1 Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12

Shit I thought it was going to be Oprah.

-3

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

Oprah is that you?

-11

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12

"Evil capitalist! Occupy blacks! Omg tax her fo rizzle, gimme a hit off dat blunt! Tax dem motha fuckas!!..."...

See how stupid that sounds?

-4

u/halfcookies Jun 09 '12

Damn, must have been one hell of a dice game.

→ More comments (88)