- Directed by
- Nelson, Stanley Jr., American, born 1951
- Subject of
- Walker, Madam C.J., American, 1867 - 1919
- Produced by
- Nelson, Stanley Jr., American, born 1951
- Narrated by
- Nelson, Jill, American, born 1952
- Subject of
- Walker, Madam C.J. Manufacturing Company, American, founded 1906
- Walker, A'Lelia, American, 1885 - 1931
- Dr. Joyner, Marjorie Stewart, American, 1898 - 1994
- Fisher, Peg, American
- Johnson, Nettie, American
- Distributed by
- Filmakers Library Inc., American, 1969 - 2011
- Owned by
- D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
- Date
- 1987
- Medium
- polyester film
- Dimensions
- Duration: 47 Minutes
- Length (Film): 1700 Feet
- Caption
- 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.
- Description
- 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.
- Place used
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted
- Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States, North and Central America
- Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- DC Public Library Film Collection
- Classification
- Time-based Media - Audio
- Movement
- Anti-Lynching Movement
- Topic
- Activism
- Advertising
- Beauty culture
- Black Enterprise
- Business
- Documentary films
- Economics
- Families
- Film
- Segregation
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2017.55.87.1a
- Restrictions & Rights
- Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




