History, hair-story, her-story

History, Hair-story, Her-story: What TV journalist-turned-biographer A'Lelia Bundles discoverd about her celebrated foremother, hair-cair entrepreneur and philanthropist Madam C. J. Walker and herself

One of A'Lelia Bundles' favorite childhood adventures in the 1950s was going to work with her mother, the vice president of the company in Indianapolis where Madam C.J. Walker manufactured the products that groomed, employed and empowered thousands of African American women. In the air hung the bergamot-scented family legacy of style and success.

In an elegant apartment nearby, she remembers being mesmerized for hours by her late grandmother's vanity, covered in mauve silk and …