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OLIVER W. HILL BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker
JOIN IN THE Oliver W. Hill Book Club DISCUSSION of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles. We will be joined virtually by A’Lelia Bundles, journalist, author, and great-great-granddaughter of Madam C. J. Walker who was the first female self-made millionaire in the United States. Ms. Bundles will answers questions about women’s and African American history in her books and the Netflix movie "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker".
A’Lelia Bundles writes biographies about the amazing women in her family: entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker and Harlem Renaissance icon A’Lelia Walker. On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker is a New York Times Notable Book and the non-fiction source for Self Made, the fictionalized four-part Netflix series starring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer that premiered on March 20, 2020. Ms. Bundles is at work on her fifth book, The Joy Goddess of Harlem: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, about her great-grandmother whose parties, arts patronage and travels helped define the era.
After a 30-year career as an executive and Emmy award-winning producer with ABC News and NBC News, Ms. Bundles now is the brand historian for MCJW, a line of hair care products inspired by Madam Walker and created by Sundial Brands. She is a trustee of Columbia University and chair emerita of the National Archives Foundation. Ms. Bundles also speaks at conferences, colleges, corporations, and other venues about entrepreneurship, philanthropy, financial literacy, and women’s and African American history.
Ms. Bundles founded the Madam Walker Family Archives and is on the advisory boards of the March on Washington Film Festival, the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative.
Ms. Bundles is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and has participated in writing residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell.
The bi-monthly Oliver W. Hill Book Club invites readers to explore various books dealing with the law, civil rights, and social justice in America. The Richmond Public Law Library named the club in honor of Oliver W. Hill (1907–2007), a Richmond African American attorney and civil rights activist. His efforts, along with others, resulted in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation in public education is unconstitutional.
Please see Guinness World Records for more information on Madam C. J. Walker as the first female self-made millionaire. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-self-made-millionairess
- Date:
- Monday, November 8, 2021
- Time:
- 6:30pm - 7:45pm
- Categories:
- Author Visit Book Discussion Genealogy Law Life & Job Skills Movies Virtual
Event Organizer
Meldon Jenkins-Jones is the Richmond Public Library / Community Services Manager at Hull Street Branch Library.
Meldon also chairs the Get Lit Advisory Committee which supports the Richmond Public Library Get Lit Reading Initiatives including the Black Male Emergent Readers (BMER) program and the Lit Chicks Read book clubs.
Meldon is a graduate of the Leadership Metro Richmond Class of 2022. She was the first recipient of the Virginia Library Association (VLA) Librarians of Color Forum Award in 2021 and is an active member of VLA. She presented “Libraries Bringing Community Together” at the 2023 VLA Annual Conference.
In 2011, Meldon received her Master of Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law—Newark and practiced law in New Jersey until her retirement in 2003. Meldon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she studied African American Studies and Russian Civilization.
A Metro Richmond resident, Meldon is the mother of two adult children and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.