About this issue

Black Enterprise, August, 1998

Walk into the editorial offices of BLACK ENTERPRISE and you'll pass a sepia photo of the Madam C.J. Walker Theatre in Indianapolis. The art deco building stands as a monument to the woman who paved the way for today's black women entrepreneurs. It's also a sign of our commitment to promote and recognize the aspirations and achievements of women who came after her.

Walker, who was born in Delta, Louisiana, to former slaves, founded a haircare business in 1905, and went on to become the first African American female millionaire. Despite her accomplishments, she wasn't warmly received by her black male counterparts. Attending her first National Negro Business League convention in Chicago in 1912, Walker brought letters of reference and prestigious introductions to the convention's founder, Booker T. Washington, only to be snubbed at the speaker's box. Nonetheless, Washington was impressed by the savvy business leader and well-known philanthropist. The next year, he humbly and graciously introduced Walker to the delegation.

"One of the things she always said was, 'I got my start by giving myself a start,' and that is how women must view themselves now," says A'Lelia Bundles, a Washington, D.C., deputy bureau chief for ABC News and Walker's great-great-granddaughter. "If she had the vision to change and transform herself, I know that women today can, too." In May. Bundles shared Walker's legacy with attendees at this year's Kidpreneurs Konference at the B.E./NationsBank Entrepreneurs Conference in Orlando, Florida.

That said, we dedicate this issue to Madam C.J. Walker and, for the third year in a row, shine the spotlight on women who live her legacy.

Finding women for our piece "Three Business Dynamos" proved to be a challenging task for Careers Editor Cassandra Hayes. "I tried to locate women running unique businesses with demonstrated growth and superior operations and revenues topping $2 million," says Hayes. "After carefully combing through a host of organizations and people in the know, we found these three dynamic women."

In another feature, "Women of the BE 100s," female CEOs share the differing strategies they use to run some of the top black businesses in the nation. "If these women share any common trait, it's that they've been very aggressive in terms of seeing their businesses thrive and expand over die years," says Business News Editor Eric Smith. "Despite the dual hurdles of race and gender, they've found a way to succeed."

The moral? Sisters are doing it for themselves--and others. We think Walker would be proud.