Q: Are you the original hair care and cosmetic company founded by Madame C.J. Walker?
A: Yes, indeed we are. On December 20th, 1985, the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, Inc., a/k/a Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company of Indiana, Inc. -represented by its board of Directors and the authorized members of the Madam C.J. Walker Testamentary Trust- was sold “lock, stock and barrel” to Raymond Randolph, an old friend of Henry Bundles (Trustee). (In fact, Raymond Randolph became the first person since Madam Walker herself to own all one thousand shares of stock in the original Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.) Specifically the agreement of sale states: “Seller sells to buyer all his right, title and interest in his business of Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, Inc., including the goodwill thereof as a going concern, stock in trade, fixtures, equipment, tools, copyright, trade name, effects, book accounts and other debts now due and owing to seller upon account or in respect of said business, and all advantages, which have been entered into by seller, or to which he is or can be entitled on account or in respect of said trade or business.”
Contrary to the misleading statements made by the self-described great- great- granddaughter of Madam Walker, A’Lelia P. Bundles, Mr. Randolph was sold far more than “the rights to use the Madam Walker name to manufacture hair care products”. As the Agreement of Sale clearly states, Raymond Randolph was sold the entire original Madam Walker Company, including historical business documents of the company, the original hair care formulas of Madam Walker, original business letters written by Madam Walker and a host of various historical memorabilia related to the original Madam C.J. Walker Company. This was not a licensing agreement; it was a stock/asset sale. (See the history page of www.madamewalker.net in order to view the original Madam C.J. Walker Mfg. Co. stock certificates signed over to Mr. Randolph–including Ms. Bundles’ shares.)
Q: Why has the name of the original Madam C.J. Walker manufacturing Company been changed to Madame C.J. Walker Enterprises?
A: It was always Mr. Randolph’s intention to expand the use of the Madame Walker brand, beyond hair care products, so the name was slightly modified to reflect that intention. We also added an “e” onto the word Madam because both versions of the word had been used by the original Walker Company in various advertisements and because Madam “e” C.J. Walker signed many of her letters with the abbreviated version of Madam, “Mme”.
Q: Do you manufacture the original Mme. C. J. Walker hair care products?
A: Yes of course. The name of Madame Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower was changed in the early 1930’s to Madame Walker’s Wonderful Hair Preparation, and later, in the mid 1940’s the name was modified again to Madame Walker’s Hair and Scalp Preparation. This product is still being manufacture by our company today -using the same formula that Madam Walker herself used. The same can be said for Madame Walkers Scalp Ointment (formerly known as Madame Walker’s Tetter Salve), Madame Walker’s famous Glossine pressing oil, Madame Walker’s Temple Salve (formerly known as Wonderful Temple Salve) and Madame Walker’s Brilliantine (formerly known as Wonder Pomade). Later, in the mid to late 1950’s a new product was added called Conditioning Cream Hairdress, and later in 1985, after purchasing the original company, Raymond Randolph added yet another hair dressing called Vitamin E Supergrow. These 7 oils have been manufactured and sold continuously by the Randolph family since the original Madame Walker Company was purchased in 1985. (Go to the “products” page at www.madamewalker.net to order the original Mme. C.J. Walker products)
Unfortunately, once again the self-proclaimed great-great-granddaughter of Madame Walker has disseminated false and misleading information regarding this issue. A’Lelia Bundles has stated on her web-site, in radio and television interviews and elsewhere, that the original Madame Walker Company went out of business in 1985 and that the original Madame Walker hair care products are no longer in existence. This is a lie. When the original MCJW Company was sold in 1985 to Raymond Randolph it did not cease to exist! It simply continued under new ownership. Some of the MCJW Company staff continued to be employed by Mr. Randolph after his purchase of Madame Walker’s historic company.
Q: Did Madame C.J. Walker invent the pressing comb?
A: Madame Walker did not invent the pressing comb. The pressing comb had been around for years prior to Madame Walker’s entrance onto the hair care scene. Madame Walker did purchase a patent for a specific type of pressing comb, but the trend of Black women wanting to straighten their hair had existed long before Madame Walker. Madame C.J. Walker had started –per her own words- a “HAIR GROWING business”, a business that she had cultivated into an entire system and methodology, which she had named “Beauty Culture”. In fact in an interview granted to the Indianapolis Recorder wherein she announced the introduction of five new toilet articles to her line of beauty products, Madame empathically stated the following: “Right here let me correct the erroneous impression held by some that I claim to straighten the hair. I deplore such impression because I have always held myself out as a hair culturist. I grow hair…I want the great masses of my people to take a greater pride in their personal appearance and to give their hair proper attention.” - Mme C.J. Walker
Q: I read that Madam Walker started the idea of “good hair” and that she promoted a white standard of beauty. Is this true?
A: This is completely false. Madame C.J. Walker expressly conveyed the rights to use her own photo, image, likeness and even her own signature to her business for the promotion and sale of her hair care products. In fact, Madame Walker bucked the trend of her time which was to use light-skinned and even white models to promote products to the Black community. Instead she used her own dark brown- skinned image to advertise and promote her products. Never did Madame Walker herself use the terminology of “good” or “bad” hair to describe the various textures of African-American hair. It was Madame’s money which funded an organization known as the International League of Darker Peoples. Madame was the antithesis of the ‘white standard” of beauty and she worked tirelessly until her passing to lift up her race, supporting most of the organizations of her day which had been founded for that purpose.
Q: Did Madame Walker steal Annie Pope’s (aka Annie Turnbo Malone) formula for the Wonderful Hair Grower?
A: No. Madame Walker’s competitors –specifically Annie Pope and her agents- promulgated this lie in order to harm Madame’s business. This unsubstantiated rumor has been kept alive thanks to the efforts of none other than A’Lelia P. Bundles who claims to be related to Madame Walker! There is absolutely no proof whatsoever that Madame Walker ever made any effort to steal Annie Pope’s formula. Keep in mind, a formula is not a list of ingredients; a formula is like a recipe wherein you must have not only the ingredients, you must know how much of each ingredient to use and how to mix those ingredients. You must also know at what temperature to heat the ingredients, how long to heat, and how much stirring in needed and at what rate. Also Madame had other products besides her Wonderful Hair Grower. How did she formulate her other products? The historical letters written by Madame Walker tell a quite different story regarding her competitive relationship with Annie Pope which is detailed in the upcoming book called “The Rape of Madame C.J. Walker…Her Company’s Story.” (See the link for book at www.madamewalker.net to read an excerpt)
Q: Do you own the Madame Walker Theatre Center and did Madame Walker build it?
A: The MCJW Company at one point did own the Walker Theatre; however, it was sold in 1980 by the Trustees and MCJW company officers to the “Madame Walker Urban Life Center Corp.” which was a non-profit corporation established by the Trustees of Madame Walker’s Trust. Essentially, the Trustees sold the Walker Theatre Center to themselves, representing both buyer and seller in the deal, an act which is ethically wrong and may be technically illegal. This was done prior to the sale of the Madame Walker Company to Raymond Randolph in 1985, so Raymond Randolph did not acquire ownership of the Walker Theatre. The Randolph family does however own the historical items that are on display at the Walker Theatre.
The Walker Theatre was built 9 years after Madame Walker had passed and contrary to what has been reported, it is highly unlikely that Madame Walker would have built such an edifice. In fact the Theatre Center represents one of the root causes of the financial drain which Madame C.J. Walker’s hair care company endured from 1930-1979.
Q: Does the mansion built by Madame Walker still exist? If so who owns it?
A: Yes the opulent 32-room mansion known as Villa Lewaro and located in Irvington, New York does still exist! It was purchased by a man named Harold Doley and his wife Helena. The Doleys have taken great care in restoring Madame’s Villa back to its former beauty. There is an article in the December 2008 issue of Ebony Magazine which features the Doley family and Madame Walker’s famous Villa.
Q: Where can I find the most complete and accurate historical data pertaining to Madame Walker and her famous company?
A: Due to their ownership of Madame’s historical company and the historical documents and memorabilia of the company, the Randolph Family can provide the most detailed and historically sound information about Madame C.J. Walker and her company. Please contact them by calling toll free, 866-552-2838 or go to the contact us page of their web-site at www.madamewalker.net.
Regarding permission to use photographs of Madame Walker or any photos related to her business, you must contact the Randolph Family. The copyrights and other intellectual property rights to said pictures/photos/memorabilia are owned by the Randolph family as the sole owners of Madame’s historical company and the name “Madame C.J. Walker” is a registered trademark of their company.