Sara Spencer Washington (June 6, 1889 – March 23, 1953) was the founder of Apex News and Hair Company and was honored at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

as one of the "Most Distinguished Businesswomen" for her Apex empire of beauty company, schools, and products. Washington gave back to her community, whether founding a nursing home called Apex Rest in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

or the Apex Golf Club, one of the first African-American owned golf courses in the nation.

Early life

Sara Spencer Washington was born in

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. This city is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology or West Virginia University, Beckley Campus. ...

on June 6, 1889, to Joshua and Ellen Douglass Phillips. As a girl, she attended public schools in the Beckley area before going to the Lincoln Preparatory School in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

Norfolk Mission College The Norfolk Mission College (NMC) was a privately funded public school for African American students in the Norfolk, Virginia area. The school was established by the United Presbyterians and the first class started in 1883. NMC taught thousands of ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Before starting her beauty industry, Washington studied advanced chemistry at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. In 1905, Washington began her career as a dressmaker, a profession she continued until 1913. That year, she opened her own small hairdresser shop in

, despite the fact that her parents wanted her to become a school teacher.

Career

In 1919, Washington founded the Apex News and Hair Company in

and began her career as a cosmetics entrepreneur. She experimented with a variety of cosmetic products, targeting the market of African American women. While Washington started with a one-room beauty shop, she was able to grow her business into an empire by working in her beauty salon during the day and canvassing for her cosmetic products at night. The Apex Beauty Products Company encompassed a variety of products, from pressing oils,

hot comb A hot comb (also known as a straightening comb or pressing comb) is a metal comb that is used to straighten moderate or coarse hair and create a smoother hair texture. A hot comb is heated and used to straighten the hair from the roots. It can b ...

s, and pomades for hair to

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

s, beauty creams, and

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick dates back to ...

s. Washington recognized the value in the beauty industry and considered it one of the best professions to enter. She is known for saying, "As long as there are women in the world, there will be beauty establishments." Indeed, the demand that Washington recognized surfaced in the United States. The Apex empire included eleven different beauty schools in the United States, with schools in foreign countries that specialized in teaching with her products. It is estimated that Washington's company employed nearly five hundred people in her stores across the nation, in addition to the estimated forty-five thousand sales agents who canvassed Apex beauty products as Washington had in her early days. While Washington did not pioneer the beauty industry, she emerged into the beauty market after the world had suffered from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. She has been celebrated for coining the slogan, "Now is the time to plan your future by learning a depression-proof business." While Washington's company started as a one-room beauty shop, it is estimated to have been worth nearly half-a-million dollars by the mid-1940s.

Legacy

In 1939, Washington was recognized for her company at the

. Washington's empire had expanded from the Apex Beauty Products Company to the Apex News and Hair Company, the Apex Publishing Company, which published the Apex News for Washington's estheticians and sales agents, Apex Laboratories which created her cosmetics and products, Apex Drug Company, and Apex Beauty Colleges. Washington's international recognition from her 1939 award enhanced both her business empire and the status of African American women, as her business empire had enabled her to become one of America's first black millionaires. Washington's success enabled her to give back to her community. She contributed twenty acres of farm land as a campsite for African American youth, and gave an endowment of a home for girls, supporting the educational elements of the National Youth Administration program. There is a historical marker in Atlantic City in the neighborhood where Madame Washington lived and operated Apex.Woodruff-Brooks (2020). ''Golden Beauty Boss: The Story of Madame Sara Spencer Washington & the Apex Empire.'' Sunbury Press. One of the most successful and long-standing schools was The Apex College of Beauty in Philadelphia, remaining progressive for decades. As of the 1980s, it became the country's oldest black institution of beauty technology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Sarah Spencer 1889 births 1953 deaths African-American company founders African-American women in business American company founders American women company founders American cosmetics businesspeople American hairdressers Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Atlantic City, New Jersey Businesspeople from Beckley, West Virginia American tailors Place of death missing 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American businesspeople

Early life

Career

Legacy

See also

References