Two Dollars and a Dream: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A documentary film with the title Two Dollars and a Dream. It consists of a single reel of color 16mm polyester film with optical sound.

Through the use of archival still photographs, interviews, and voiceover narration, the documentary tells the tale of Madam C. J. Walker’s rise to prominence as America's first self-made female millionaire. The documentary opens with a discussion of Walker's early life as a child of slaves who was married at fourteen and widowed by the time she turned twenty (20) years old.

Other topics discussed in the film include the creation of the Walker Company; Mrs. Walker's marketing strategies in black churches; criticisms levied at Walker and her company for "whitening" black hair; her philanthropic endeavors, including donations to the anti-lynching movement; the establishment of Villa Lewaro as her place of residence; her death and last will and testament; film footage of the Walker building erected in Indianapolis after Walker's death, as well as the significance of some of the stores inside, such as the Coffee Pot and the Walker Theatre; her daughter A'Lelia Walker's life as a prominent African American heiress and socialite; as well as A'Lelia Walker’s Dark Tower in Harlem, New York. The film concludes with a discussion of A'Lelia Walker’s final years, the decline of the Walker fortune and the impact of The Great Depression on African American life.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1987
• Directed by: Stanley Nelson Jr., American, born 1951
• Subject of: Madam C.J. Walker, American, 1867 - 1919
• Produced by: Stanley Nelson Jr., American, born 1951
• Narrated by: Jill Nelson, American, born 1952
• Subject of: Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, American, founded 1906
• Subject of: A'Lelia Walker, American, 1885 - 1931
• Subject of: Dr. Marjorie Stewart Joyner, American, 1898 - 1994
• Subject of: Peg Fisher, American
• Type: documentaries
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: polyester film
• Dimensions: Duration: 47 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1700 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Beauty culture
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Economics
• Object number: 2017.55.87.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.