On Her Own Ground

“On Her Own Ground” is the first full-scale, definitive biography of Madam C. J. Walker the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist by her great-great-granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles. The daughter of slaves, Madam C. J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism. Along the way, she formed friendships with great early-twentieth-century politi-cal figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. “On Her Own Ground” is not only the first comprehensive biography of one of recent history’s most amazing entrepreneurs and philanthropists, it is about a woman who is truly an African American icon. Drawn from more than two decades of exhaustive research, the book is enriched by the author’s exclusive access to personal letters, records and never-before-seen photographs from the family collection. Bundles also showcases Walker’s complex relationship with her daughter, A’Lelia Walker, a celebrated hostess of the Harlem Renaissance and renowned friend to both Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. In chapters such as Freedom Baby, Motherless Child, Bold Moves and Black Metropolis, Bundles traces her ancestor’s improbable rise to the top of an international hair care empire that would be run by four generations of Walker women until its sale in 1985. Along the way, “On Her Own Ground “ reveals surprising insights, tells fascinating stories and dispels many misconceptions.”

Author Biography

A’Lelia Bundles, an award-winning network television news producer and former ABC News Washington deputy bureau chief, is director of talent development for ABC News. She is the author of numerous essays, articles, and encyclopedia entries about her great-great-grandmother, Madam C.J. Walker, and a young-adult biography, “Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, “ which won an American Book Award. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Visit her Web site at www.madamcjwalker.com.