Black Hair: The Epitome of Black Entrepreneurship
Student Ambassador Weekly Update: This week’s work has mainly been focused on really creating a well-thought out and engaging Black History Month Contest for the Wellesley College community. Additionally, preparing to have a month of trying to schedule meetings within numerous departments. Researching for this blog post about Black Hair, the goal has been to really expand and broaden the depth of the research done in the archive.
The HistoryMakers Digital Archive is impressively rich with narratives from some of the biggest Black Hair Care giants. The search terms that were used when conducting the research for this week’s blog post were plentiful: Madam CJ Walker + hair, Josephine Baker + Pomade, Josephine Baker + hair, Annie Malone + hair, George Johnson + hair, Johnson + hair, Soft Sheen, Bertha Poindexter, “Mushroom afro,” Bronner Brothers, Pro-line, Comer Cottrell, Posner + hair, Magnificent + hair, association of black hair care manufacturers, “Natural hair movement,” “Afro,” “Afro” + “hair”.
HistoryMaker Margaret Bush Wilson, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/margaret-bush-wilson-41
HistoryMaker Chuck Stone, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/chuck-stone-41
HistoryMaker Margaret Bush Wilson (1919-2009), the former Missouri NAACP president, provides context about the very historic Poro College and Annie Malone: “Annie Malone… was, was the founder of Poro College. And it was a, an institution which taught young women how to be in business with hair products, and she was very successful. In fact, I think she was probably among the first women to be a millionaire… black women to be a millionaire in this country… And Mrs. Walker [Madam C.J. Walker] up in Indianapolis [Indiana], you know, lots of people say she was the first, but Annie Malone taught her. She went to Poro College and got her training and then went on… I was beginning to think that, that people were, were losing this history about a very fine woman… who founded… and financed the orphans home here, Annie Malone Children's Home [Annie Malone Children and Family Services, St. Louis, Missouri], which is still flourishing, and still strong, and wonderful building. She did all that. She was… a very modest person… My mother [Margaret Casey Bush] and Mrs. Malone were, were friends… the story is… she went to some bank... She was carrying all this money around (laughter), and they were kind of blown away by it. So, the other thing that was so exciting is that she built that building, the Poro College building on the corner of Pendleton [Avenue] and St. Ferdinand [Avenue], and we used to have almost all of our culture events there. We would have concerts and distinguished speakers. It was the center of the cultural life of our area.”[1] Mrs. Malone was evidently one of the trailblazers in the Black hair care community, training successes such as Madam CJ Walker in the process.
HistoryMaker Chuck Stone (1924-2014), founding president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), had a very cool story about his sister being named after Annie Malone. He says, “one of my sisters… was named for her, Annie Malone and my sister Anne [Marie Dowdy] was named for her… Mrs. Malone, was kinda kooky, when my father said that one night… she called my father, said, ‘Mr. Stone,’ she said, ‘somebody's trying to poison… is trying to kill me… and they're trying to put poison gas underneath the door to kill me." And my father said, ‘Oh Miss Malone, no, nobody wants to bother you.’ And she says ‘Oh no, I know they are.’ She said, "…you get little Charlie [HistoryMaker Chuck Stone], get little Charlie," which is me… and I think I was about one year old, something like that ‘and you take, and bring and take Mad,’ my mother, ‘and come on over and sit with me for the night.’ And so my father said, ‘All right,’ so he said, ‘Now I don't think nothing, nothings gonna happen.’ So they bundled me up and went over and sat with her all night and my father said, he didn't think anything was gonna happen, but suppose they were trying to kill her, we'd have all been dead (laughter).’”[2] These personal connections allow for a greater understanding of who Mrs. Malone was and how she interacted with the people around her beyond just her successful hair business.
HistoryMaker Leonard Davis, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/leonard-davis-41
HistoryMaker A’Lelia Bundles, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/alelia-bundles-39
HistoryMaker Leonard Davis (1953-), a famous 7th Avenue fashion designer, provides insight about Madam CJ Walker’s reasoning for her involvement in the hair industry and how her work was liberatory for a whole community of Black women. He states, “She had a condition I think called alopecia [alopecia areata] where hair was falling out and she was trying to discover a remedy for her own problems… because she failed and she tried something else and it failed and it failed and it failed, so in the process of doing that, she discovered various different treatments, okay, which didn't work for her but then they were the solution for someone else's hair problem and someone else and someone else. So this, again, she's coming up in the '20s [1920s] at a point in time where black women didn't consider themselves as pretty, as beautiful, as sexy… She created classes in the community to teach you how to groom hair, how to treat hair and, therefore, all you needed was a chair and a sink and you could be your own business person… and I have it here, a shingle that said… a graduate of the Madam Walker School of Beauty [Madam C.J. Walker School of Beauty Culture], and you would have your kit… You now were able to make your own way, okay. And that freed thousands of women, thousands of women, and suddenly they were on their own feet right there in their homes, right there in their communities. They started to develop their own clientele, their own following, and for those who, of course, were skillful and… in addition to having the creativity and the skill, the drive, okay, to be self-sufficient and entrepreneurs, many people as well had business minds and they opened up salons and beauty shops, okay, in the community because the consumer was sitting right in front of you, okay, and so that freed many people.”[3]
HistoryMaker A’Lelia Bundles (1952-), the former ABC News bureau chief of Washington DC and the great-great-granddaughter of Madam CJ Walker, spoke beautifully of her great-great-grandmother beyond just what is known about her with regards to the hair industry. She informed, “You know what was really thrilling for me was to find what a political activist she was, you know. What everybody knows is Madam Walker had something to do with hair. They think she invented the straightening comb. She didn't invent the straightening comb. So there's more myth about her then there is, you know, reality and fact… And in doing the research, I was thrilled to find that she had been really involved in the anti-lynching movement and she had helped finance the NAACP's [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] anti-lynching initiatives. She had spoken out for the rights of black soldiers during World War One [1914-1918]. She was an early feminist: a person who advocated economic independence for women… 1917, the year before Mary Kay was born, she had her first convention of national sales agents and more than 200 women came from all over the country and she gave prizes, just like Mary Kay, but she gave prizes not just to the women who sold the most products, or who brought in the most new agents, she gave prizes to the women who contributed the most to charity and to political causes. At the end of the convention, the women sent a telegram to President Woodrow Wilson protesting the recent riots in East St. Louis [Missouri]. And then a couple of weeks later, she traveled with a number of Harlem leaders… from New York [New York] to Washington [D.C.] to the White House to try to meet with President Woodrow Wilson to urge him to make lynching a federal crime. And then later, during World War One, when a lot of people were being investigated, she was investigated by a black spy, a black war spy named Walter Loving. She and Ida B. Wells [Barnett] were at a rally and I read some of the War Department classified documents and she was called a ‘Negro Subversive;’ and I just loved this because it was like being on a [Richard] Nixon enemies list in 1968 and I thought, ‘Go Madam.’ You know, you're speaking out enough that you're upsetting people but you're doing the right thing. So I loved finding that out about her. I also found out about a husband she never mentioned and, you know, a marriage and the fact that she didn't divorce this second husband but married a third husband, you know.”[4]
HistoryMaker Edward Gardner, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/edward-gardner-40
HistoryMaker George Johnson, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/george-johnson-38
HistoryMaker Eric Johnson, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/eric-johnson-39
HistoryMaker Edward Gardner (1925-), the founder of Soft Sheen, speaks of growing his brand. He highlights, “I went into every major city in the country selling just Soft Sheen Products, hair and scalp pressing oil and conditioner. We had a product called Five Minute Fast Set, which was our first entree into areas other than the petroleum-based products… but again I went into beauty shops up in Brooklyn [New York], L.A. [Los Angeles, California], New Jersey. You name it, all over the country, you know, selling products. And I was the main one doing the selling and manufacturing, doing it until [son] Gary [Gardner] was able to take over doing that. But we were able to grow… put our foot in the door of every major city in the country with our name. Soft Sheen Product was known. People liked the product and they were buying it. Not the quantity they were buying Johnson Products [Company], or Ultra Sheen. But along came a fellow name Willie Morrow… We were in all the trade shows across the country, exhibiting and promoting our product. So at that time, I told one of my technician, ‘I think we can make this product.’ So what we did… at that time Willie's product was good, but he didn't have the market distribution. We were in all the cities countrywide... So we start stirring-up and making what we felt was a better relaxer… And it was called Care Free Curl. Gary named it that. And we did a pretty good job with producing it. It worked.”[5] HistoryMaker Bettiann Gardner (1930-), co-founder of Soft Sheen, provided insight about eventually selling Soft Sheen to L’Oreal, “the beginning of L'Oreal was very much like the beginning of Soft Sheen [Products]. It was a husband and wife who made the products during the day and they went out and sold in the evening. So that was very inspiring. And the executives, you know, seemed to really be very well grounded, and very much likely. And so we, you know, felt very comfortable with that. So we felt that, you know that this was really the right thing to do at the right time.”[6]
HistoryMaker George Johnson (1927-), the founder of Johnson Products Company, talks of his company’s humble beginnings: “Mr. Fuller had a lot of sayings, and one of the things that he used to say that served me very, very well, he used to say, take what you have and make what you want. And that, that stuck in my mind because when I started Johnson Products Company, I didn't have any money. But that didn't bother me… I found a way… I took what I had. I had two hundred and fifty bucks, that I borrowed. And I had the two hundred and fifty bucks that Orville Nelson put up. And I made that stand up… that five hundred dollars. I had a dollar left after the first day of trying to operate that company. And it stood up.”[7] HistoryMaker Eric Johnson (1951-), is the son of George Johnson and owner of Johnson Hair Products. He provided further context for the beginnings of Johnson Products Company saying, “Johnson Products began as a professional product line. So the Ultra Wave [hair product] line was sold in barber shops. And the Ultra Sheen [hair product] line was developed for women to be sold through beauty shops… In fact, we used to have schools that beauticians would have to come to and get a certification before we would even allow them to use the product… how he created Ultra Wave in the first place, it was to define and develop a product that performed consistently. Well, a consistent performing product in the hands of an untrained professional is still going to give you an unpredictable finish. So it was through the training and education that both of those lines developed. So unless you were involved in beauty shops, salons or barbershops, you really didn't know much about the brand. Ultra Sheen began… and the product line at that time had cream shampoos and then a conditioner was developed in 1958, which was called Hair and Scalp Conditioner. And those products began sifting out through distributors into the retail stores. And so Johnson Products found itself in the position of having the number one brand in the retail store, and we weren't even selling to retail stores. So about 1958, the decision was made to take the brand into retail stores. And of course, that was a growth process and took a period of time, because first you had to develop sections. Most stores didn't have sections that were devoted to ethnic health and beauty aids. And so that the early days were spent convincing retailers that it made sense to allocate shelf space to this category. Probably the brand… aside from Ultra Sheen's success, the brand that probably gave Johnson Products its greatest household name was Afro Sheen. And the whole advertising campaign with 'Wantu Wazuri' [Swahili for 'beautiful people'] that was developed by Vince Cullers [Advertising, Inc.] here in Chicago [Illinois]. And, you know… the afro and the times and this Afro Sheen became synonymous with the times, that really put Johnson Products into the average household's vocabulary if you will.”[8]
HistoryMaker Grayson Mitchell, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/grayson-mitchell-38
HistoryMaker Comer Joseph Cottrell, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/comer-joseph-cottrell-40
HistoryMaker Grayson Mitchell (1950-2018), founder of Summit Consulting, Inc. , Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Consultancy, gorgeously summarizes the significance of the Johnson product legacy. He explains, “Ethnic hair care didn't exist until he came along. You couldn't buy black hair care products in retail stores until he went in and told [Charles] Corky Walgreen, ‘Look let's try it. Let me put these in the store. I'll pay you twice as much retail commission as other products, just let me put it there.’ He invented the carrier, which is today like a four billion dollar retail industry he invented. That's incredible. A man with a high school degree and five hundred dollars; it's incredible. And that business once I learned it, that business, that industry which Madam C. J. Walker and H. B. Fuller really cultivated, George Johnson had gardened and much later came along and further refined it, but that business generated more wealth for African Americans than any other industry in America because it generated the wealth on all vertical levels, from the manufacturer to the wholesaler, to the retail, to the beauty salon; that's powerful. Fifteen thousand black hairdressers got a good living doing Ultra Sheen relaxers. Fifteen thousand, I mean, that's and when you think about the ripple effect to that… and then you realize that industry had been owned and controlled by black manufacturers for over one hundred years since the days of Madam C. J. Walker. So, I, I felt very fortunate of having the privilege of being able to work in an industry like that and learn some of that history and to get to know some of the men who helped do that. I thought it was just an incredible story, and still do. I'm still very close to [HM] George Johnson. I'm still very close to [HM] Comer Cottrell who was the founder and CEO of Pro-Line, of the Gardner's here in Chicago [Illinois]. Those are real heroes. They all have sold their companies. They all have become very wealthy men and now are in their twilight years, but boy you talk about some real bold tall achieving guys. Those are the guys I think who just are tremendous heroes. They'll never be properly honored or recognized for what they done. And their success spawned so much other success in the black America. They can't begin to take credit for all the stuff they've done and wouldn't even want to 'cause they're not those kind of guys. But, to think about what that meant. Now, we've lost control of that, of that industry. It has gone the way of all the other industries in which we have used to generate capital in our community, but they held on as long as they could.”[9]
HistoryMaker Comer Joseph Cottrell (1931-2014), co-founder of Pro-Line hair products company, also spoke about the early production of his company. He noted, “Johnson [Products Company, Chicago, Illinosi] had 'Soul Train' other folks were advertise in Ebony and Jet. You've gotta have some advertising method. Well with my background I knew how, I'd been watching the PX [post exchange] and how stuff moved and you can win the battle at the point of sale, it's how you package it and shelf positioning. So what we did is I'll package them, and [HistoryMaker George] Johnson would be talking about, ‘Watu Wazuri [use] Afro Sheen’ and folks that didn't speak Swahili didn't even know what the hell he was talking about, but he bought 'em to the shelf and they saw our package with that leather, it was wrapped in black leather with a hot gold leaf stamp on it and that gold leaf would flash when you got it, when the light it, it would shine in your face and strike you and people would come in there. He'd bring 'em into the store, but when they saw our product, that's what they would pick up, and they would spray it and smell it and they liked the smell. We had a fruity strawberry smell and they would spray that and take that can, put the top back on it, put it to back of the others and take the one that they hadn't opened… so we were outselling everybody… I would not give distributors special deals based on the volume that they wanted to buy, I wanted it to be an even, level playing field out there so, every year we would invite the distributors into Dallas [Texas] and I would lay out $50,000 in the middle of the table, the board room table and if anybody had a price different from the other, all they had to do is show me and take that and walk away with it. There wasn't no hanky-panky about pricing, everybody was on a level playing field with Pro-Line and they would tell us about what other companies were doing for them. That's them, that's not the way we operated.”[10]
HistoryMaker Antonio Anderson, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/antonio-anderson-41
HistoryMaker Angela Jackson, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/angela-jackson-41
HistoryMaker Antonio Anderson (1965-), a hairstylist and personal care entrepreneur, spoke about winning a contest hosted by the Bronner Brothers who are another important name in the conversation surrounding Black hair. He said, “As a matter of fact, one of my first big competitions that I did was here in Atlanta [Georgia]. It's called the Bronner Brothers hair show [Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show]. And I'll never forget the first one that I got in; we got whooped, in other words. Because we didn't know what to expect, and I went in there with my, I used my cousin. And I think I had like a windmill on the side of her head. And we had, it was one of those cheap, I had one of those little cheap looking outfits on. I thought I was looking good. And these girls came in with all this high fashion stuff on. I mean, they were looking good. And we lost. It was like, like I said, we got whipped bad. And the Bronner Brothers show is a hair show that brings people from all over the country. You're talking about 125,000 hairstylists. And if you can win one of those shows, I mean, it pretty much sets the tone; it gets you out there. So, everyone is trying to win a Bronner Brothers hair show. And so when I lost that time, I went up to the judge to ask him exactly what I did wrong? And he said, ‘You concentrated too much on your hair,’ and this and that. Because it was a total fashion competition. So that means that you got to understand, from head to toe--you've got to dress the model from the hair, earrings, makeup and clothes, all the way down. And the way I am, I'm the type of person that is, I'm a, you know, I'm not going to quit. I'm going to make this thing happen. And so… I opened up my salon [Styles by San Antonio, Decatur, Georgia] the following year. So at this time, I'm twenty getting ready to turn twenty-one. So I went into my salon I think in 1986. And I began to compete, and I decided that I was, that I would actually get back into the Bronner Brothers show again.’”[11]
An anecdote that felt very empowering, stressed the significance of Black hair, and fitting to end this blog post on was from HistoryMaker Angela Jackson (1951-), a poet and a playwright who said, “I got my hair in an afro July 17, 1968, and I remember debating that summer. My mother [Angeline Virginia Robinson Jackson] wanted me to get a perm. To decide whether or not I should get a perm or an afro and I chose to have an afro, and I remember when I came home one weekend my cousin, Willie Mae, shaped my afro for me. She had gone to cosmetology school and she cut me out an afro, and I've worn my hair natural ever since. July 17, 1968… and it was a declaration of independence and my own independent, and independent-mindedness, my own self-determination choosing… myself and choosing to choose for myself who I would be and what I would do with my life...”[12]
[1] Margaret Bush Wilson (The HistoryMakers A2006.177), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 17, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 7, Margaret Bush Wilson remembers Annie Malone, founder of Poro College
[2] Chuck Stone (The HistoryMakers A2005.189), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 4, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, Chuck Stone recalls the various places he lived in as a young child
[3] Leonard Davis (The HistoryMakers A2007.119), interviewed by Adrienne Jones, June 22, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 8, story 2, Leonard Davis shares his collection of black beauty products
[4] A'Lelia Bundles (The HistoryMakers A2003.132), interviewed by Larry Crowe, June 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 4, A'Lelia Bundles describes Madam C.J. Walker's political activism, pt. 1
[5] Edward Gardner (The HistoryMakers A1993.004), interviewed by Adele Hodge, February 9, 1993, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 5, Edward Gardner recounts the success of Care Free Curl
[6] Bettiann Gardner (The HistoryMakers A2002.168), interviewed by Adele Hodge, August 26, 2002, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 2, Bettiann Gardner talks more about the sale of Soft Sheen Products and her daughter's role in the transition
[7] George Johnson (The HistoryMakers A2003.303), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, December 18, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 7, George Johnson discusses the start of Johnson Products
[8] Eric Johnson (The HistoryMakers A2000.027), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, March 15, 2000, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 7, Eric Johnson discusses the early success of Johnson Products Company
[9] Grayson Mitchell (The HistoryMakers A2003.295), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 12, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 8, Grayson Mitchell talks about the legacy of HistoryMaker George Johnson, the founder of Johnson Products Company, and other black hair care entrepreneurs
[10] Comer Joseph Cottrell (The HistoryMakers A2004.218), interviewed by Larry Crowe, October 27, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 9, Comer Joseph Cottrell talks about Pro-Line Corporation's initial marketing and sales strategies
[11] Antonio Anderson (The HistoryMakers A2006.163), interviewed by Denise Gines, December 12, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 13, Antonio Anderson recalls his first competition at the Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show
[12] Angela Jackson (The HistoryMakers A2005.247), interviewed by Larry Crowe, November 22, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 5, Angela Jackson talks about the politics of black hair
