The Culture Soup Podcast® – Women’s History Month Episode

🎙 Guest: A’Lelia Bundles, Award-Winning Author & Journalist

📖 Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance

✨ What if you were so extraordinary—so magnetic, so dazzling—that Langston Hughes himself called you “Joy Goddess”? ✨

A’Lelia Walker wasn’t just the daughter of Madam C.J. Walker. She was the heartbeat of the Harlem Renaissance—a woman who turned salons into sanctuaries for Black brilliance, who made a space where art, activism, and ambition could thrive. She owned her story, commanded her presence, and lived as a beacon of joy and power.

This Women’s History Month, we celebrate her legacy with someone who knows it intimately—her great-granddaughter, award-winning journalist and author A’Lelia Bundles. In her newest book, Joy Goddess, Bundles unearths the layers of A’Lelia Walker’s life—the glamour, the grit, the business, and the burden of being her mother’s daughter.

In this episode, we explore:

✨ The power and influence of A’Lelia Walker during the Harlem Renaissance

✨ The art of legacy—how we shape it, carry it, and redefine it

✨ What it means to lead in your own right, beyond expectations and history

🔥 This is one you don’t want to miss. Streaming TODAY, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Names That Made This Episode Shine

✨ A’Lelia Bundles – Award-winning journalist, historian, and author of Joy Goddess. The great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker and the storyteller who brings this legacy to life.

✨ A’Lelia Walker – The original Joy Goddess, a woman who turned salons into sanctuaries for the brightest minds of the Harlem Renaissance. She was a visionary, a patron, a tastemaker—Black excellence personified.

✨ Madam C.J. Walker – An empire builder, America’s first self-made female millionaire, and a mother whose legacy both empowered and weighed on her daughter’s path.

✨ Langston Hughes – The Harlem Renaissance poet who saw something so radiant in A’Lelia Walker that he named her the Joy Goddess of Harlem’s 1920s.

✨ Jean Toomer – Author of Cane, a defining literary voice of the Harlem Renaissance.

✨ Countee Cullen – A poet whose work captured the spirit and struggles of Black life, often a guest at A’Lelia Walker’s legendary salons.

✨ James Reese Europe – A jazz legend, a conductor of cultural shifts, and a force in Harlem’s music scene.

✨ Addison Scurlock – The brilliant photographer who captured some of the most iconic images of Madam C.J. Walker and A’Lelia Walker.

✨ Scott Joplin – The King of Ragtime, whose music was part of the vibrant culture that influenced A’Lelia Walker’s early years in St. Louis.

✨ Alberta Hunter – The celebrated blues singer who knew A’Lelia Walker personally and once praised her singing voice.

✨ Annie Malone – A beauty industry mogul, one of Madam C.J. Walker’s early business influences, and a reminder that Black women were building empires long before they were widely recognized for it.

✨ Dr. Wiley Wilson – One of A’Lelia Walker’s love interests, a doctor who brought romance and complexity to her story.

✨ Dr. James Arthur Kennedy (Gentleman Jack) – A suave, poetry-writing, tennis-playing gentleman who was also a suitor of A’Lelia Walker.

✨ Allison Seymour – WUSA 9 journalist and host of L. Michelle Smith’s DC Public Library event.

✨ Valorie Burton – A powerhouse in personal development, coaching leaders to step fully into their purpose.

✨ Carole Simpson – A trailblazing journalist and the first Black woman to anchor a major network newscast, paving the way for so many.

✨ Peter Jennings – A broadcast journalism icon whose influence shaped generations of news consumers.

✨ The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) – A vital organization that has uplifted and supported Black journalists for decades, fostering truth-tellers and trailblazers.

Places That Shaped the Story

🏙️ The Dark Tower (Harlem, New York) – A’Lelia Walker’s legendary salon, where the brightest minds and artists of the Harlem Renaissance gathered to create, connect, and inspire.

🏙️ Harlem, New York – The beating heart of Black culture in the early 20th century, where A’Lelia Walker made her mark.

🏙️ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The city where A’Lelia Walker first stepped into leadership in her mother’s company.

🏙️ Indianapolis, Indiana – The home base of Madam C.J. Walker’s empire and where A’Lelia Walker’s personal archives were preserved.

🏙️ St. Louis, Missouri – Where Madam C.J. Walker and A’Lelia Walker first built dreams that would take them far beyond the Midwest.

🏙️ Denver, Colorado – A crucial stop on their journey toward business and cultural influence.

🏙️ Irvington, New York – The site of Madam C.J. Walker’s stunning mansion, a testament to Black success.

🌍 Cairo, Egypt – A’Lelia Walker collected artifacts here, weaving the richness of African history into her life.

🌍 Monte Carlo, France – A glamorous stop on A’Lelia Walker’s international travels.

🌍 Palestine – A key destination on her Holy Land tour, where faith, history, and business met.

🌍 Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) – Where A’Lelia Walker had an extraordinary audience with Empress Zauditu.

🏛️ MLK Memorial Library, Washington, DC – The site of an upcoming conversation with L. Michelle Smith, hosted by Allison Seymour, on leadership and happiness as a career strategy.

💻 The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) Virtual Powerlong Summit – A major event where L. Michelle Smith will be a featured speaker and moderator.

This episode is a celebration of legacy, of joy, of Black excellence that spans generations. It’s about the names we know, the names we should know, and the places that shaped history.

🔥 Listen to The Culture Soup Podcast® wherever you stream your podcasts.