"Alelia Walker {May 6,1885-August 16,1931}

She was born in Vicksburg,Mississippi,grew up in St.Louis Missouri,and

attended Knoxville College in Tennessee before going to work for her mama,Madam C.J.Walker (Sarah Breedlove),who made a fortune in the hair-care business.She managed the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,branch of her mama's haircare product empire (1908-1914);oversaw Lelia College,a school of cosmetology also run;by the company;becme manager of the Walker College of Hair Culture,New York City,in 1914;and became president of the company,1919.
When her mama died in 1919,Alelia inherited the business and the lavish family estate,Vila Lewaro,in Irvington,New York.In the 1920s,she entertained writers and artists at Villa Lewaro at her apartment and at her town house in New York City.Alelia regular guest at the town--house which she named "The
Dark Tower"after Countee Cullen's column by that name -- included Langston Hughes,Zora Nealle Hurtson,James Weldon Johnson,Jean Tommer,and other writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance.In some ways,The Dark Tower,served to reinforce the prejudice some had in the African American community had against Alelia,she was sometimes seen as more interested in
presenting Authentic "Negro culture for the benefit of her white acquaintances that actually promoting it with financial support.One one occasion,in what would become an apocryphal tale of the Harlem Renaissance,Alelia separated her guests by color and served whites chitterlings and bathtub gin,while African American enjoyed champagne and caviar.Some among Harlem's upper stratosphere even subbed her for being the daughter of a washerwoman-despite the fact her mama was the country's first female self-made millionaire.Privately,enlists lighter-skinned African Americans dismissed Alelia as "the Mahogany Millionaires" She was also quite tolerant of gays among her social set,which  also her at odds with some of Harlem's more conservative hierarchy.Grace Nail Johnson,the wife of novelists, James Weldon Johnson and considered the grand dame of Harlem society,remained adamant about never crossing the threshold of Alelia's residence nor the Dark Tower.She married three times:to John Robinson,a hotel waiter,whom she divorced in 1914;to Dr.Wiley Wilson in 1919;and to Dr.James Arthur Kennedy,who she divorced  just a few months before her death in 1931.Alelia had no biological children,in 1912 she adopted Fairy Mae Bryant (1898-1945),who became known as Mae Walker and traveled with Madam C.J.Walker as a model and assistant.In November 1923,A'Lelia orchestrated an elaborate "Million Dollar Wedding" (actually close to $40,000 ) for Mae's marriage to Dr.Gordon Jackson.Mae Walker,a graduate of Spelman Seminary in Atlanta,divorced Gordon in 1926 and married Attorney Marion R.Perry in September 1927.A'lelia died of a cerebral hemorrhage brought on by hypertension the same aliment that led her mama's death in 1919.She was surrounded by friends who traveled to Long Branch,New Jersey to celebrate a friend's birthday with lobster & champagne.Thousands of Harlemites turned out for the invitation-only funeral where Mary McLeod Bethune delivered the eulogy and Rev.Adam Clayton Powell presided over the service.Langston Hughes read a poem written for the occasion.Hubert Julian the celebrated "Black"-flew over in small plane and dropped dahlias and gladiolas onto the site.