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Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Women's History

Sarah Walker

Sarah Walker
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.54

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    philanthropic, determined, instill, better, self-made, washerwoman, sales, supporter, poverty, historic, empire, successful, operate, gain, value, knowing
     content words:    Mississippi River, North America, Sarah Breedlove, Moses McWilliams, Charles Joseph Walker, Madame C. J., Walker Agents, National Association, Colored People, African Americans

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Sarah Walker
By Mary L. Bushong 		  
1     The Mississippi River is the longest river in North America. As it reaches the lower end of its winding journey, it separates two states, Louisiana and Mississippi. Near the historic city of Vicksburg is a tiny Louisiana town called Delta. It was from this place that a poor black girl went on to become the nation's first self-made female millionaire.
 
2     Sarah Breedlove was born in 1867, but her parents died when she was very young. Her older sister raised her until she was about ten years old, when she began to work for a living. When she was just 14, Sarah married Moses McWilliams and by the time she was 20, she was a widow with a small daughter of her own.
 
3     Sarah and her daughter moved to St. Louis, Missouri. For the next 18 years Sarah supported the two of them by working as a washerwoman. Knowing the value of a good education, she not only made sure her daughter went to school, but she attended night classes herself to gain the education she had missed as a child. She was determined to make life better for her family.

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