Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone (August 9, 1877 – May 10, 1957) was an American businesswoman, inventor and philanthropist. She is considered to be one of the first African American women to become a millionaire. In the first three decades of the 20th century, she founded and developed a large and prominent commercial and educational enterprise centered on cosmetics for African-American women.

She was born in Metropolis, Illinois, the daughter of Robert and Isabella Turnbo, who had formerly been enslaved. Orphaned at a young age, Annie attended a public school in Metropolis, before moving in 1896 to live with her older sister Ada Moody in Peoria. There Turnbo attended high school, taking a particular interest in chemistry. However, due to frequent illness, she was forced to withdraw from classes.

While out of school, Turnbo grew so fascinated with hair and hair care that she often practiced hairdressing with her sister. With expertise in both chemistry and hair care, Turnbo began to develop her own hair-care products.

While experimenting with hair and different hair-care products, she developed and manufactured her own line of non-damaging hair straighteners, special oils, and hair-stimulant products for African-American women. She named her new product “Wonderful Hair Grower”. To promote her new product, Turnbo sold the Wonderful Hair Grower in bottles door-to-door. Her products and sales began to revolutionize hair-care methods for all African Americans.

In 1918 she created Poro College in St Louis which held the company’s business offices, manufacturing operations and training centers. People would learn cosmetology and sales training for women who wanted to sell Poro products. This place was valued at more than a million dollars and included classrooms, barber shops, laboratories, an auditorium, dining facilities, a theater, gymnasium, chapel and roof garden.

1926 there were 175 college employees and more than 75,000 women across North and South America, Africa and the Philippines.

Annie lived modestly and gave away most her income. She supported African American colleges, YWCA, orphan homes and many other charities. She was at her peak, but trouble brewed on the horizon for her.

In 1927, her husband filed for divorce and wanted half of everything. He had been trying to take over the entire company, but found she was a better fighter than he thought. In a public divorce where he had black male politicians on his side, she had all of the communities and charities she had supported on her side. She settled with him for much less.

In 1930 she moved the business to Chicago, Illinois.  And again found herself in a legal battle from other people who wanted to take credit for her business. Annie’s business made it through the Depression and World War II.

But by the 1950s, when she had 32 branches of the Poro school, the government seized the school for back taxes.

Annie died of a stroke in 1957 at the age of 87 years old. Her estate was only worth 100,000 but her legacy was invaluable. She had taught generations of women how to be beautiful. You can’t put a price on that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Turnbo_Malone

Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone (August 9, 1877 – May 10, 1957) was an American businesswoman, inventor and philanthropist. She is considered to be one of the first African American women to become a millionaire. In the first three decades of the 20th century, she founded and developed a large and prominent commercial and educational enterprise centered on cosmetics for African-American women.

She was born in Metropolis, Illinois, the daughter of Robert and Isabella Turnbo, who had formerly been enslaved. Orphaned at a young age, Annie attended a public school in Metropolis, before moving in 1896 to live with her older sister Ada Moody in Peoria. There Turnbo attended high school, taking a particular interest in chemistry. However, due to frequent illness, she was forced to withdraw from classes.

While out of school, Turnbo grew so fascinated with hair and hair care that she often practiced hairdressing with her sister. With expertise in both chemistry and hair care, Turnbo began to develop her own hair-care products.

While experimenting with hair and different hair-care products, she developed and manufactured her own line of non-damaging hair straighteners, special oils, and hair-stimulant products for African-American women. She named her new product “Wonderful Hair Grower”. To promote her new product, Turnbo sold the Wonderful Hair Grower in bottles door-to-door. Her products and sales began to revolutionize hair-care methods for all African Americans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Turnbo_Malone

Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone (August 9, 1877 – May 10, 1957) was an American businesswoman, inventor and philanthropist. She is considered to be one of the first African American women to become a millionaire. In the first three decades of the 20th century, she founded and developed a large and prominent commercial and educational enterprise centered on cosmetics for African-American women.

She was born in Metropolis, Illinois, the daughter of Robert and Isabella Turnbo, who had formerly been enslaved. Orphaned at a young age, Annie attended a public school in Metropolis, before moving in 1896 to live with her older sister Ada Moody in Peoria. There Turnbo attended high school, taking a particular interest in chemistry. However, due to frequent illness, she was forced to withdraw from classes.

While out of school, Turnbo grew so fascinated with hair and hair care that she often practiced hairdressing with her sister. With expertise in both chemistry and hair care, Turnbo began to develop her own hair-care products.

While experimenting with hair and different hair-care products, she developed and manufactured her own line of non-damaging hair straighteners, special oils, and hair-stimulant products for African-American women. She named her new product “Wonderful Hair Grower”. To promote her new product, Turnbo sold the Wonderful Hair Grower in bottles door-to-door. Her products and sales began to revolutionize hair-care methods for all African Americans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Turnbo_Malone

Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, 1912 – May 3, 1967) was an American actress who worked internationally during the 1930s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after beginning her career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed “The Black Garbo” in Europe because of her striking beauty, McKinney was both one of the first African-American film stars in the United States and one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television.

McKinney was born June 12, 1912, in Lancaster, South Carolina, to Georgia Crawford and Hal Napoleon McKinney. Shortly after McKinney’s birth, her mother often hid from her abusive husband in the house of Colonel Leroy Springs (of Springs Industries), for whom she worked as a domestic.

By 1920, Crawford relocated to Savannah, Georgia, to work as a cook and Hal supported the family financially as a delivery man for a local drugstore. Crawford remarried and moved to New York. Nina Mae McKinney moved later.

Her first job on stage was in the chorus line of Blackbirds of 1928 which starred Bill Robinson. She then had a role in the King Vidor’s movie, Hallelujah which led her getting a 5-year contract from MGM. She had a few roles with them, but none were leading roles.

In 1935 she made Sanders of the River with Paul Robeson. She and Robeson were promised the roles of the Africans in the movie would depict them respectfully, the film was later cut to change that. McKinney played maids and sex workers because those were the roles offered to people of color during that time period.

She moved to Europe where she worked in nightclubs and theaters, doing an occasional movie. She toured playing nightclubs and worked on some Britishe films. But eventually moved back to the United States in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

She played maids and sex workers because those were the roles offered to people of color during that time period. She would get an occasional role that was off that path. In 1949 she landed the role of the jealous girlfriend in Pinky starring Jean Crain, Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters.

In 1951, she performed her last role in summer stock. She moved back to New York City in 1960. She died in 1967.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Mae_McKinney

Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, 1912 – May 3, 1967) was an American actress who worked internationally during the 1930s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after beginning her career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed “The Black Garbo” in Europe because of her striking beauty, McKinney was both one of the first African-American film stars in the United States and one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television.

McKinney was born June 12, 1912, in Lancaster, South Carolina, to Georgia Crawford and Hal Napoleon McKinney. Shortly after McKinney’s birth, her mother often hid from her abusive husband in the house of Colonel Leroy Springs (of Springs Industries), for whom she worked as a domestic.

By 1920, Crawford relocated to Savannah, Georgia, to work as a cook and Hal supported the family financially as a delivery man for a local drugstore. Crawford remarried and moved to New York. Nina Mae McKinney moved later.

Her first job on stage was in the chorus line of Blackbirds of 1928 which starred Bill Robinson. She then had a role in the King Vidor’s movie, Hallelujah which led her getting a 5-year contract from MGM. She had a few roles with them, but none were leading roles.

In 1935 she made Sanders of the River with Paul Robeson. She and Robeson were promised the roles of the Africans in the movie would depict them respectfully, the film was later cut to change that. McKinney played maids and sex workers because those were the roles offered to people of color during that time period.

She moved to Europe where she worked in nightclubs and theaters, doing an occasional movie. She toured playing nightclubs and worked on some Britishe films. But eventually moved back to the United States in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Mae_McKinney