This Week in History, Dec. 22nd -28th

“I want you to understand that your first duty is to humanity.  I want others to look at us and see that we care not just about ourselves but about others.”

– Madam C.J. Walker

This week we celebrate the 100th birthday of entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist, Sarah Breedlove, who re-branded herself as Madam C.J. Walker. Ms. Walker rose from extreme poverty to becoming one of the wealthiest African-American women of her time, eventually leaving most of her wealth to schools and charities.¹

You can learn more about C. J. Walker by checking out, On her own ground : the life and times of Madam C. J. Walker. It is located at HD9970.5.C672 W3533 2002b in the Clark Library.

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”

–Amelia Earhart

Ninety-nine years ago this week a 23 year old Amelia Earhart flew in an airplane for the first time. It was a ten minute flight that cost her father $10.00 and changed the course of Ms. Earhart’s life and that of world aviation history.³

You can check out, The fun of it : random records of my own flying and of women in aviation , online through the Clark Library.

¹ https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/madam-cj-walker

² https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madam_CJ_Walker_face_circa_1914.jpg

³ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart

⁴ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amelia_Earhart_standing_under_nose_of_her_Lockheed_Model_10-E_Electra,_small.jpg