Fairy Mae Bryant was the granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker, one of the first self-made female millionaires in the United States and a pioneer of the hair-care industry for black women. Fairy Mae inherited her grandmother’s business and became a patron of the arts and a socialite in Harlem during the 1920s. But her life was cut short by a stroke in 1957, at the age of 71. What was the cause of her death and what legacy did she leave behind?
Early Life and Adoption
Fairy Mae was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1885, to Moses and Sarah McWilliams. Her father died when she was two years old, and she moved with her mother to St. Louis, Missouri, to live with her mother’s three brothers. Her mother married John Davis in 1894 and divorced in 1903. In 1906, her mother married Charles Joseph Walker, a newspaper advertising salesman, and became an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetic creams. Fairy Mae took the Walker name and grew up in St. Louis. She attended Knoxville College in Tennessee before entering the family business.
Fairy Mae was adopted by A’Lelia Walker, Madam C.J. Walker’s only surviving child, in 1912, when Fairy Mae was 15 years old. A’Lelia was a businesswoman and a hair-care entrepreneur who ran the East Coast operations of her mother’s company. She also became a prominent figure in Harlem’s cultural scene, hosting lavish parties and supporting artists and musicians.
Marriage and Divorce
A’Lelia arranged Fairy Mae’s marriage to Dr. Gordon H. Jackson, who was the son of a rich Cincinnati coal dealer, in 1923. The wedding was a grand affair that cost the equivalent of $600,000 today and attracted more than 9,000 guests. However, Fairy Mae was not happy with her husband, who was much older than her. She was in love with another man named Sol, but she was too afraid to defy her mother’s wishes.
Fairy Mae gave birth to a son, Walker, in 1926, but she soon started divorce proceedings against Gordon. She married Marion Rowland Perry, a law school graduate, in 1930. They remained married until Fairy Mae’s death.
Business and Patronage
Fairy Mae became president of Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company in 1919, after her grandmother’s death. She remained in that position until her own death in 1931. She initiated several marketing campaigns to promote the company’s products and services, such as a competition among prominent ministers for a trip to the Holy Land in 1924.
However, she delegated most of the day-to-day operations to attorney F.B. Ransom and factory manager Alice Kelly at the Indianapolis headquarters. She focused more on her social life and artistic interests in Harlem. She lived and entertained in a luxurious townhouse that had five floors and 20 rooms. She also owned a country estate called Villa Lewaro in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York.
She hosted some of the most notable social gatherings of the era, attracting celebrities, politicians, activists, writers, musicians, and artists. She supported the Harlem Renaissance movement and sponsored several cultural events and organizations. She was friends with Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Duke Ellington, Countee Cullen, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and many others.
Death and Legacy
Fairy Mae suffered from hypertension (high blood pressure), the same disease that killed her mother and grandmother. She died of a cerebral hemorrhage (stroke) on August 17th, 1931, while enjoying lobster and champagne with friends in Long Branch, New Jersey.
She left behind a fortune estimated at $600,000 (equivalent to $10 million today) and a successful business that employed thousands of black women across the country. She also left behind a son who inherited the company and became its president until his death in 1945.
Fairy Mae Bryant was a remarkable woman who lived a glamorous and influential life. She was a pioneer of black entrepreneurship and a patron of black culture. She was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance and an inspiration for generations of black women.
