<I>Two Dollars and a Dream</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1987
name: label: Directed by
content: Stanley Nelson Jr., American, born 1951
label: Subject of
content: Madam C.J. Walker, American, 1867 - 1919
label: Produced by
content: Stanley Nelson Jr., American, born 1951
label: Narrated by
content: Jill Nelson, American, born 1952
label: Subject of
content: Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, American, founded 1906
label: Subject of
content: A'Lelia Walker, American, 1885 - 1931
label: Subject of
content: Dr. Marjorie Stewart Joyner, American, 1898 - 1994
label: Subject of
content: Peg Fisher, American
label: Subject of
content: Nettie Johnson, American
label: Distributed by
content: Filmakers Library Inc., American, 1969 - 2011
label: Owned by
content: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
notes: label: Caption
content: This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
label: Description
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Advertising
label: Topic
content: Beauty culture
label: Topic
content: Black Enterprise
label: Topic
content: Business
label: Topic
content: Documentary films
label: Topic
content: Economics
label: Topic
content: Families
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Segregation
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: DC Public Library Film Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Audio
label: Movement
content: Anti-Lynching Movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2017.55.87.1a
objectType: label: Type
content: documentaries
label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: color films (visual works)
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: polyester film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration: 47 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 1700 Feet