ANNIE TURNBO MALONEEntrepreneur, Philanthropist1869-1957Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone was born on this day in 1869 in Metropolis, Illinois. Many historical sources have credited Malone as being this country's first Black millionairess; although many sources cite Madame C.J. Walker as the first. Prior to starting her business in hair care, Walker was a student of Malone. During the 1920s, Malone was reported to have been worth fourteen million dollars. Her fortune was made with the development of non-damaging hair straighten products, hair growers and conditioners, and tetter reliefs. Under the name "Poro" she built not only a financial empire, but also Poro College (1917), aimed at educating the Black community of St. Louis. The college trained women as agents for Poro products and by 1926 claimed to have graduated some 75,000 agents located throughout the world including the Caribbean. Giving back, at one time she was reported to have been supporting two full-time students in every Black land-grant college in the nation. |
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| Her contributions are too many to name; however, one was to Howard University during the 1920s for more than $25,000, which at the time was the largest gift ever by a Black American to a Black college. anniemalone died on May 10, 1957 of a stroke in Chicago's Provident Hospital. Her fortune had been depleted to $100,000. | |
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