Walker And Zemurray Essay

Samuel Zemurray and Madame C.J. Walker were viewed from many for achieving the American Dream, the two embodied the quintessential American success stories of a Russian immigrant and daughter of a former slave. Zemurray and Walker, while they had completely different racial backgrounds, the two ultimately were more similar than not, and battled many of the same hardships. In a time of white privilege, many disadvantages emerged for an immigrant and African American women, the odds were strongly against them. Throughout their success stories, it becomes abundantly clear the extra lengths it took for the two to accomplish so much in that time. While many admired their prosperous and lucrative businesses, it’s easy for one to overlook the sacrifices …show more content…
Once Walker and Zemurray established their business interest there was no one that could stop them. Walker remarried to a man named C.J. Walker, whom she got her name from, she found this man to be ambitious enough to together help build her empire. While working multiple jobs she began spending any extra time perfecting the formulas for her hair care products, after a notice in her own vanishing hair. Not long after, C.J. and Walker began traveling across the south in predominately black cities to increase and inform black women of the miracle product, that also restored her own hair. As the growing number of very happy customers arose the more success Walker gained. Walker was determined to become a successful African American woman and did just about everything to ensure that. Walkers’ sales increased and the demands continued to rise, by expanding her customers, expanding her personal contact, getting her brand out as much as possible, gathering endorsements, and seizing every social and business occasion to engage potential investors, her business was profiting more than ever expected. Like many African Americans at that time, especially for a widowed single mother, the difficulties to make a life for yourself seemed almost impossible. To imagine the “American Dream,” many wouldn’t fathom a life that Walker eventually had. Like most …show more content…
But the definition of the American Dream is just as subjective as the person who is trying achieve their American Dream. The search for the American Dream is a desired to be obtained by everyone, but the bigger question is at what lengths will you go for your American Dream and was it really worth it? For Walker and Zemurray, they made a name for themselves through a lifetime of hard work and dedication, and anyone has the potential to achieved that same success. But, when looking through the series of events for the two it’s an understatement to say it wasn’t always easy, and it’s questionable whether the two even see themselves as achieving the American