ALelia Walker - Joy Goddess of the Harlem Renaissance

ALelia Walker - Joy Goddess of the Harlem Renaissance ALelia Walker Quick Facts Known for: patron of Harlem Renaissance artists; daughter of Madam C. J. WalkerOccupation: business executive, art patronDates: June 6, 1885 - August 16, 1931Also known as: Lelia Walker, Lelia Robinson, Lelia McWilliams Biography ALelia Walker (born Lelia McWilliams in Mississippi) moved with her mother, Madam C. J. Walker, to Saint Louis when ALelia was two years old. ALelia was well-educated though her mother was illiterate; her mother saw to it that ALelia attended college, at Knoxville College in Tennessee. As her mothers beauty and hair care business grew, ALelia worked with her mother in the business. ALelia took charge of the mail order part of the business, working out of Pittsburgh. Business Executive In 1908, mother and daughter set up a beauty school in Pittsburgh to train women in the Walker method of hair processing. The operation was called Lelia College. Madam Walker moved the business headquarters to Indianapolis in 1900. ALelia Walker set up a second Lelia College in 1913, this one in New York. After Madam Walkers death, ALelia Walker ran the business, becoming president in 1919. She renamed herself about the time of her mothers death. She built the large Walker Building in Indianapolis in 1928. Harlem Renaissance During the Harlem Renaissance, ALelia Walker hosted many parties that brought together artists, writers, and intellectuals. She held the parties in her New York townhouse apartment, called the Dark Tower, and at her country villa, Lewaro, originally owned by her mother. Langston Hughes dubbed ALelia Walker the joy goddess of the Harlem Renaissance for her parties and patronage. The parties ended with the beginning of the Great Depression, and ALelia Walker sold the Dark Tower in 1930. More about ALelia Walker The six-foot-tall ALelia Walker was married three times and had an adopted daughter, Mae. Death ALelia Walker died in 1931. The eulogy at her funeral was delivered by the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. Mary McLeod Bethune also spoke at the funeral. Langston Hughes wrote a poem for the occasion, To ALelia. Background, Family Mother: Sarah Breedlove Walker - Madam C. J. WalkerFather: Moses McWilliams Marriage, Children husband: John Robinson (divorced 1914)husband: Wiley Wilson (married 3 days after her mother died; divorced 1919)husband: James Arthur Kennedy (married early 1920s, divorced 1931)daughter: Mae, adopted 1912