A woman builds a business empire and then goes on to give away millions of dollars to charity. It’s not an unusual story, at least not today — but if the woman was an African-American during the Jim Crow era?

Madam C.J. Walker is considered America’s first self-made, female millionaire. We’ll learn more about her in today’s episode from Tyrone McKinley Freeman, the author of Madam C.J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving: Black Women’s Philanthropy during Jim Crow.

Freeman is an associate professor of philanthropic studies and director of undergraduate programs at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He’s also among nine winners of the 2022 Dan David Prize, which recognizes “outstanding scholarship that illuminates the past and seeks to anchor public discourse in a deeper understanding of history.”