Three Notable Black Entrepreneurs in American History

Key Takeaways:?

• The first significantly wealthy Black woman in the U.S. was Madam C. J. Walker.
• Jeremiah Hamilton was considered one of the wealthiest Black Americans of the 19th century.
• O.W. Gurley is remembered as one of the wealthiest businessmen in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In the 21st century, Black entrepreneurs are facing challenges in getting businesses started, securing capital and building wealth. For centuries, Black entrepreneurs have also faced extreme racial discrimination and inequality. Yet, despite these setbacks, they have always persisted.?

In the late 19th to early 20th century, it took grit and determination to survive as a Black entrepreneur, especially a successful one. Below, I highlight some Black entrepreneurs who stuck through hardship to realize their dreams and make our society and economy better.

Black entrepreneurs like Madam C.J. Walker, Jeremiah Hamilton and O.W. Gurley established successful businesses by overcoming formidable challenges and defying societal barriers. Looking back on the legacy of these entrepreneurs can help us see how Black entrepreneurs have demonstrated the spirit of resilience, determination and innovation throughout our history.

Madam C.J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker’s story is one of tenacity. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, created one of the first lines of homemade hair care products for Black women, becoming one of the country’s wealthiest Black women in the process.?

Walker was the fifth child of Louisiana sharecroppers Owen and Minerva Breedlove. She was orphaned at seven years old, and when she was just 14 years old, she married her first husband, Moses McWilliams. In 1885, the two had a daughter together, whom they named A’Lelia. Following the death of McWilliams in 1887, Walker and A’Lelia moved to St. Louis, where she worked as a laundress and sales agent for Annie Turnbo. Turnbo was known for creating hair products for Black women, and her success helped to inspire Walker’s business ventures. In 1906, Walker met and married her second husband, Charles J. Walker.?

When Walker began suddenly losing her hair, she set out to create her own hair products, just as Turnbo had done. The beauty product — coined the “Walker system” for hair care — was a one-of-a-kind hair product system created for Black women by a Black woman. Walker worked tirelessly to sell her product and demonstrated her marketing genius through self-promotion. Eventually, Walker enlisted “beauty culturalists,” which were women she employed to sell her products and grow her empire.?

By the time of her death, Walker’s company employed around 40,000 people — mostly Black women. In many ways, Walker was responsible for lifting these women out of poverty and helping them create wealth for their families and Black communities.?

As a self-made, wealthy entrepreneur, Walker donated much of her wealth to charity. Her generosity included funding scholarships for women at the Tuskegee Institute and providing financial donations to the Black YMCA, the NAACP and other nonprofit organizations.????

Jeremiah Hamilton

Jeremiah Hamilton is considered one of the richest Black Americans of the 19th century. While historians are not able to say with certainty when and where he was born, they have narrowed it down to either the West Indies or Richmond, Virginia, in 1807. He eventually made his way to New York City in 1833, where he became intrigued with the stock market. Before long, he was known as a ferocious trader and made his fortune by creating an early form of what we now know as a hedge fund. Earning investors’ trust allowed Hamilton to invest aggressively and borrow more money to trade.?

In the 1840s, he also invested in real estate in Poughkeepsie and Astoria, New York, before going bankrupt when the market crashed. He then worked tirelessly to reacquire his properties. According to historians, Hamilton’s business endeavors allowed him to amass $12 million in wealth throughout his life before he succumbed to pneumonia in 1875.

O.W. Gurley

O.W. Gurley was a successful entrepreneur in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Before the infamous Tulsa Massacre in 1921, he was one of the wealthiest businessmen in the area, with several income sources on his 40 acres of land.?

Gurley was born in 1868 in Huntsville, Alabama. His parents were formerly enslaved people who were freed following the American Civil War. Growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Gurley staked a claim in Perry, Noble County in Oklahoma, after participating in the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893 — an event where the government sold off millions of acres after purchasing it from the Cherokee Nation. Gurley and his wife sold the land they had claimed to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1905, which was experiencing an oil boom.?

Gurley had a keen business sense. After purchasing the property, he divided it into residential and commercial lots. He started a rooming house, which was his first business, and eventually opened a grocery store on the land — that rooming house and grocery store were on a road that would become known as Greenwood. Essentially, the soon-to-be thriving community slowly formed around Gurley.?

In 1921, Gurley’s fortunes changed for the worse. Racial tensions had been growing since 1919, and in 1921, they erupted into what is known as the Tulsa Massacre. Unfortunately, Black Wall Street was burned to the ground, and 300 Black Americans lost their lives. Gurley’s property was destroyed, and he and his wife fled to California following the tragedy. In Los Angeles, Gurley and his wife ran a small hotel until he passed away fourteen years later at the age of 67.?????

A Legacy of Black Entrepreneurship

The stories of the entrepreneurs above show us that, even in times of serious racial tensions and inequality, the power of resilience can overcome any obstacle. Through their achievements, they challenged social norms, helped shatter racial barriers and paved the way for the success of future generations. Their legacies continue to inspire us all.?

To learn more about Black entrepreneurs and the history of Black businesses, follow me on LinkedIn as I continue to share the remarkable stories of incredible leaders and Black entrepreneurs in history.