Black Enterprise's Trailblazers: Eight Women Who Changed American Business Forever

Tweet from @blackenterprise: Trailblazers: These 8 women changed American business forever: http://ow.ly/4sX6n

“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations….I have built my own factory on my own ground.”
Madam Walker, National Negro Business League Convention, July 1912
 Born Sarah Breedlove, Madam C.J. Walker was an African-American businesswoman, hair care entrepreneur and philanthropist. She made her fortune by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of beauty and hair products for black women under the company she founded, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company  http://www.madamcjwalker.com/  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker

“If a solution isn't enduring, it's not really a solution. In process automation, we need enduring systems and solutions that become standards in their own right.”  
Maggie Lena Walker      
Maggie Lena Walker was an African Americanteacher and businesswoman. Walker was the first African American female bank president and the first woman to charter a bank in the United States.  As a leader, she achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans and women. Disabled by paralysis and limited to a wheelchair later in life, Walker also became an example for people with disabilities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_L._Walker

"When I got to Harvard, I saw that although the law could be used as an agent of change, it could also be used to preserve the status quo." 

Deborah C. Wright

Deborah C. Wright is President and CEO of Carver Bancorp, the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank. This is the U.S.'slargest publicly traded African-American operated bank, with locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Wright was named to this position in 1999 and was honored as "Community Banker of the Year" in 2003 by The American Banker, the financial industry's dailynewspaper. She is also a member of the board of directors of Time Warner and Kraft Foods.  Wright earned her bachelor's, MBA and law degrees from Harvard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Wright

To view the full slideshow featuring the other five women, visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/2011/03/31/8-trailblazing-women-then-and-now/?show=5