Lianna Albrizio, Assistant Editor08.24.21
Early 20th Century beauty tycoon Sara Spencer Washington once remarked, “As long as there are women in the world, there will always be beauty establishments.”
With these words, a burning desire to learn and an optimistic worldview, Washington harnessed the power of her femininity to become one of the first Black woman millionaires. She built a beauty empire of products, schools, publishing houses and pharmaceuticals that endured the Great Depression and racial segregation in Atlantic City, NJ.
“She has always been my favorite historical character,” said Atlantic City historian Vicki Gold Levi. “I’ve always valued her as an activist, businesswoman, creator, marketer and innovator. I thought she checked all the boxes, and she did it against a lot of odds in those days with prejudice and segregation. She managed to rise above it and command everyone’s respect.”
As a child, Levi met Washington when her father, Atlantic City’s chief photographer, Al Gold, took her for a visit in the 1940s. While Levi is unable to recall details of that encounter, she recalled that Washington was “very elegant” and beautifully dressed.
Washington, known in her heyday as “The Madam,” will be posthumously inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame (NJHOF) this Fall. Washington will enter the Hall in the enterprise category for her cosmological achievements alongside fellow beauty entrepreneur Madam Louise Scott of Newark, the founder of Scott School of Beauty Culture and beauty salon chains. Festivities will be held virtually and aired on My9NJ in addition to NJ PBS, radio and social media, in mid-October.
Washington joins a wide-ranging and distinguished list of inductees which includes Alexander Hamilton, Martha Stewart, football players Harry Carson and Bart Oates, musician Southside Johnny Lyon and actor Jason Alexander. Founded in 2008, the NJHOF honors citizens who have made invaluable contributions to society, the Garden State and the world.
Washington was among 23 honorees in five categories this year who were selected from a pool of 50 nominees following a public vote in May.
“We asked New Jerseyans to help choose the next class of heroes and they delivered,” said Jon F. Hanson, chairman of the NJHOF. “We are honored to celebrate the lives and contributions of these notable New Jersey luminaries and greats.”
Washington founded the prestigious Apex News and Hair Company in Atlantic City in the early 20th Century. Later, she founded Apex Rest, a nursing home in the same locale, and the Apex Golf Club in Galloway Township, which was one of the first African-American-owned golf courses in the country. For all of these achievements, Washington was named one of the Most Distinguished Businesswomen at the New York World’s Fair in 1939.
A Beauty Empire Beckons
Washington was born in Beckley, WV, deep in the Appalachian Mountains. She took advantage of prime educational offerings around the East Coast. Washington attended the Lincoln Preparatory School in Philadelphia, PA; the Norfolk Mission College in Norfolk, VA (a privately funded public school for African-American students in Norfolk); and Columbia University in New York City where she studied advanced chemistry. This knowledge was useful in the making of her own cosmetics later on in her career.
Out of college, the always-chic go-getter started her career as a dressmaker. Later, she opened a hairdresser shop in Atlantic City. That move was met with displeasure from her parents who wanted their daughter to take up a more practical position—something along the lines of schoolteacher.
Not one to conform to tradition, Washington followed her cosmetology aspirations and founded the Apex News and Hair Company in Atlantic City in 1919 when she was 30 years old.
Washington began her business the same year that marked the death of fellow beauty entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker.
Running the one-room beauty shop by day, Washington would go door-to-door at night selling her Apex beauty products. Soon, her company sold a variety of products including pressing oils, hot combs, pomades, perfumes, beauty creams and lipsticks. The exemplar’s empire grew to include beauty schools in the US and other countries, all specialized in teaching with her products. One of the most successful schools was The Apex College of Beauty in Philadelphia, which became the oldest Black institution of beauty technology in the country. Each year thereafter, more than 25,000 students (mostly women) graduated from Washington’s schools to embark on their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Nearly 500 employees worked in her stores across the country with roughly 45,000 sales agents.
Atlantic City was the site of Washington’s research and production facility. There, 75 different products were manufactured, providing jobs for more than 200 people who worked as chemists, lab technicians, teachers and sales representatives. By the mid-1940s, her beauty empire was estimated to have been worth roughly $500,000. On the heels of her success, her burgeoning empire inspired African-American organizations to support black businesses.
All this was achieved with the forward-thinker’s mantra: “Now is the time to plan your future by learning a depression-proof business,” a statement Washington boldly declared amid World War I, which was followed by the stock market crash of 1929.
Her depression-proof business was rooted in the power of femininity and Washington’s advisement to her employees to “Be a lady,” according to Etta Nelson Francisco who worked at Apex Drug Store in the company’s golden age. A practitioner of her own preaching, Washington gave back to the city. After her recognition by the New York World Fair, the entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist donated 20 acres of farmland as a campsite for African-American children. She provided a girls’ home to foster the educational elements of the National Youth Administration Program, a New Deal agency that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. At the time, it operated as part of the Works Progress Administration and included a Division of Negro Affairs.
Apart from her charity work, Washington was active in political affairs. Her roles included delegate to the Republican National Convention, president of the Northside Business and Professional Women’s Club, and chair of the Industrial Department of the New Jersey State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. During World War II, she served as secretary and treasurer of the New Jersey Welfare Commission on the Conditions of Urban Colored Population.
“I really think people need to know of her legacy and what she did for Atlantic City, not in terms of giving jobs, but the way she integrated the town,” said Washington’s grandson Royston Scott.
In the mid-1940s, the city’s annual Easter parade consisted strictly of white people before Washington took it upon herself to change that. As a champion of anti-racism, Washington sponsored a Atlantic City Boardwalk parade every Easter beginning in 1946 to fight for racial justice.
According to Scott, when parade judges didn’t even look at models representing Apex, Washington decided to start her own Easter parade on the north side of town. It became such a big hit, entertainers finally decided to integrate the parade, Scott said.
Washington spearheaded the parade until her death from natural causes in 1953. Her adopted daughter, Joan Cross Washington, became an heir to the company until it was eventually sold. (Joan Cross was reportedly Washington’s niece, according to Scott.)
“When my mom inherited the company, she learned the ins and outs of the business and became the spokeswoman for Apex,” said Scott.
Scott – a film student at New York University in the 1980s – was approached by Levi to make the documentary about his grandmother. The documentary short, “The Sara Spencer Washington Story,” was released in 2018.
“I grew up knowing of her through Apex pictures of The Madame and inherited clothes. The legacy was there. There was a lot of things packed away because of the complicated past,” he said.
In the basement of his late mother’s home, Scott retrieved catalogs, a trove of black-and-white photographs and a leather-bound copy of Apex News and Hair Magazine. Articles from 1933 to 1938 contained stories of cap-and-gown-clad grads from Apex schools, trendy hairstyles, and Apex hair products.
“She was a role model,” said Scott. “She changed the lives of many in Atlantic City, especially women. During the Depression, women worked as laborers and domestics at a time when people didn’t have jobs and she enabled people to become self-sufficient. You could learn a trade that women always wanted to look good, and it was proven successful.”
During research for the film, Scott said he would “look at the footage and start crying. Not just because of my family, but because I realized how important it was and moving that she affected the lives of all these black women in Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Chicago…”
A Beautiful Legacy
Nearly 70 years after her death, Washington’s legacy continues to have a profound effect on the city where it all started. Apart from her posthumous induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame this October, The Atlantic City Arts Foundation partnered with Avanzar, formerly The Women’s Center, to create a mural of “The Madame.” The project was supported both the 48 Blocks AC and Avanzar’s “Girls as Leaders” initiatives.
Scott provided the image for the mural, which he then donated to the Library of Congress.
Scott has also been in contact with the African-American Museum of History and Cultures at the Smithsonian so that photos of The Madame can be archived and digitalized for scholars and others interested in learning about her extraordinary life.
Washington’s picture was spray-painted by muralist and photo realist BK Foxx on a building façade on the southeast corner of Atlantic Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Washington is depicted in a fur coat, jewelry, natural-looking makeup with her hair styled perfectly, and a dignified grin looking outward. The image was taken from a 1935 issue of Apex News and Hair Magazine.
“We are a social justice organization and our mission is to empower individuals and families,” Fran Wise, Avanzar’s director of development, told the Press of Atlantic City. “This mural certainly empowers all of us.”
With these words, a burning desire to learn and an optimistic worldview, Washington harnessed the power of her femininity to become one of the first Black woman millionaires. She built a beauty empire of products, schools, publishing houses and pharmaceuticals that endured the Great Depression and racial segregation in Atlantic City, NJ.
“She has always been my favorite historical character,” said Atlantic City historian Vicki Gold Levi. “I’ve always valued her as an activist, businesswoman, creator, marketer and innovator. I thought she checked all the boxes, and she did it against a lot of odds in those days with prejudice and segregation. She managed to rise above it and command everyone’s respect.”
As a child, Levi met Washington when her father, Atlantic City’s chief photographer, Al Gold, took her for a visit in the 1940s. While Levi is unable to recall details of that encounter, she recalled that Washington was “very elegant” and beautifully dressed.
Washington, known in her heyday as “The Madam,” will be posthumously inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame (NJHOF) this Fall. Washington will enter the Hall in the enterprise category for her cosmological achievements alongside fellow beauty entrepreneur Madam Louise Scott of Newark, the founder of Scott School of Beauty Culture and beauty salon chains. Festivities will be held virtually and aired on My9NJ in addition to NJ PBS, radio and social media, in mid-October.
Washington joins a wide-ranging and distinguished list of inductees which includes Alexander Hamilton, Martha Stewart, football players Harry Carson and Bart Oates, musician Southside Johnny Lyon and actor Jason Alexander. Founded in 2008, the NJHOF honors citizens who have made invaluable contributions to society, the Garden State and the world.
Washington was among 23 honorees in five categories this year who were selected from a pool of 50 nominees following a public vote in May.
“We asked New Jerseyans to help choose the next class of heroes and they delivered,” said Jon F. Hanson, chairman of the NJHOF. “We are honored to celebrate the lives and contributions of these notable New Jersey luminaries and greats.”
Washington founded the prestigious Apex News and Hair Company in Atlantic City in the early 20th Century. Later, she founded Apex Rest, a nursing home in the same locale, and the Apex Golf Club in Galloway Township, which was one of the first African-American-owned golf courses in the country. For all of these achievements, Washington was named one of the Most Distinguished Businesswomen at the New York World’s Fair in 1939.
A Beauty Empire Beckons
Washington was born in Beckley, WV, deep in the Appalachian Mountains. She took advantage of prime educational offerings around the East Coast. Washington attended the Lincoln Preparatory School in Philadelphia, PA; the Norfolk Mission College in Norfolk, VA (a privately funded public school for African-American students in Norfolk); and Columbia University in New York City where she studied advanced chemistry. This knowledge was useful in the making of her own cosmetics later on in her career.
Out of college, the always-chic go-getter started her career as a dressmaker. Later, she opened a hairdresser shop in Atlantic City. That move was met with displeasure from her parents who wanted their daughter to take up a more practical position—something along the lines of schoolteacher.
Not one to conform to tradition, Washington followed her cosmetology aspirations and founded the Apex News and Hair Company in Atlantic City in 1919 when she was 30 years old.
Washington began her business the same year that marked the death of fellow beauty entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker.
Running the one-room beauty shop by day, Washington would go door-to-door at night selling her Apex beauty products. Soon, her company sold a variety of products including pressing oils, hot combs, pomades, perfumes, beauty creams and lipsticks. The exemplar’s empire grew to include beauty schools in the US and other countries, all specialized in teaching with her products. One of the most successful schools was The Apex College of Beauty in Philadelphia, which became the oldest Black institution of beauty technology in the country. Each year thereafter, more than 25,000 students (mostly women) graduated from Washington’s schools to embark on their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Nearly 500 employees worked in her stores across the country with roughly 45,000 sales agents.
Atlantic City was the site of Washington’s research and production facility. There, 75 different products were manufactured, providing jobs for more than 200 people who worked as chemists, lab technicians, teachers and sales representatives. By the mid-1940s, her beauty empire was estimated to have been worth roughly $500,000. On the heels of her success, her burgeoning empire inspired African-American organizations to support black businesses.
All this was achieved with the forward-thinker’s mantra: “Now is the time to plan your future by learning a depression-proof business,” a statement Washington boldly declared amid World War I, which was followed by the stock market crash of 1929.
Her depression-proof business was rooted in the power of femininity and Washington’s advisement to her employees to “Be a lady,” according to Etta Nelson Francisco who worked at Apex Drug Store in the company’s golden age. A practitioner of her own preaching, Washington gave back to the city. After her recognition by the New York World Fair, the entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist donated 20 acres of farmland as a campsite for African-American children. She provided a girls’ home to foster the educational elements of the National Youth Administration Program, a New Deal agency that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. At the time, it operated as part of the Works Progress Administration and included a Division of Negro Affairs.
Apart from her charity work, Washington was active in political affairs. Her roles included delegate to the Republican National Convention, president of the Northside Business and Professional Women’s Club, and chair of the Industrial Department of the New Jersey State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. During World War II, she served as secretary and treasurer of the New Jersey Welfare Commission on the Conditions of Urban Colored Population.
“I really think people need to know of her legacy and what she did for Atlantic City, not in terms of giving jobs, but the way she integrated the town,” said Washington’s grandson Royston Scott.
In the mid-1940s, the city’s annual Easter parade consisted strictly of white people before Washington took it upon herself to change that. As a champion of anti-racism, Washington sponsored a Atlantic City Boardwalk parade every Easter beginning in 1946 to fight for racial justice.
According to Scott, when parade judges didn’t even look at models representing Apex, Washington decided to start her own Easter parade on the north side of town. It became such a big hit, entertainers finally decided to integrate the parade, Scott said.
Washington spearheaded the parade until her death from natural causes in 1953. Her adopted daughter, Joan Cross Washington, became an heir to the company until it was eventually sold. (Joan Cross was reportedly Washington’s niece, according to Scott.)
“When my mom inherited the company, she learned the ins and outs of the business and became the spokeswoman for Apex,” said Scott.
Scott – a film student at New York University in the 1980s – was approached by Levi to make the documentary about his grandmother. The documentary short, “The Sara Spencer Washington Story,” was released in 2018.
“I grew up knowing of her through Apex pictures of The Madame and inherited clothes. The legacy was there. There was a lot of things packed away because of the complicated past,” he said.
In the basement of his late mother’s home, Scott retrieved catalogs, a trove of black-and-white photographs and a leather-bound copy of Apex News and Hair Magazine. Articles from 1933 to 1938 contained stories of cap-and-gown-clad grads from Apex schools, trendy hairstyles, and Apex hair products.
“She was a role model,” said Scott. “She changed the lives of many in Atlantic City, especially women. During the Depression, women worked as laborers and domestics at a time when people didn’t have jobs and she enabled people to become self-sufficient. You could learn a trade that women always wanted to look good, and it was proven successful.”
During research for the film, Scott said he would “look at the footage and start crying. Not just because of my family, but because I realized how important it was and moving that she affected the lives of all these black women in Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Chicago…”
A Beautiful Legacy
Nearly 70 years after her death, Washington’s legacy continues to have a profound effect on the city where it all started. Apart from her posthumous induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame this October, The Atlantic City Arts Foundation partnered with Avanzar, formerly The Women’s Center, to create a mural of “The Madame.” The project was supported both the 48 Blocks AC and Avanzar’s “Girls as Leaders” initiatives.
Scott provided the image for the mural, which he then donated to the Library of Congress.
Scott has also been in contact with the African-American Museum of History and Cultures at the Smithsonian so that photos of The Madame can be archived and digitalized for scholars and others interested in learning about her extraordinary life.
Washington’s picture was spray-painted by muralist and photo realist BK Foxx on a building façade on the southeast corner of Atlantic Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Washington is depicted in a fur coat, jewelry, natural-looking makeup with her hair styled perfectly, and a dignified grin looking outward. The image was taken from a 1935 issue of Apex News and Hair Magazine.
“We are a social justice organization and our mission is to empower individuals and families,” Fran Wise, Avanzar’s director of development, told the Press of Atlantic City. “This mural certainly empowers all of us.”