Lecture: Joy Goddess A'Lelia Walker
Woolworth Chapel at the Woodlawn Cemetery, Jerome Avenue Entrance
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
Woodlawn's Legacy Lecture Series
Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance.
Join for the Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy's Fall Legacy Lecture featuring A'Lelia Bundles in Conversation with Eric K. Washington.
During the 1920s, A’Lelia Walker was an internationally famous heiress as comfortable at the opera in Paris as she was at the annual Howard-Lincoln football classic. A century later, she is best known as the only child of hair care entrepreneur and millionaire, Madam C.J. Walker. But during the Harlem Renaissance, she was a celebrity whose glamorous soirees were so memorable that poet Langston Hughes dubbed her “the joy goddess of Harlem’s 1920s.”
Now based on extensive research and Walker’s personal correspondence, her award-winning journalis great-granddaughter creates a nuanced portrait of a charismatic woman whose radiant personality, impresario instincts, and international travels are brought to vivid and unforgettable life.
The event will be held in the Woolworth Chapel at the Woodlawn Cemetery. Tickets are $25 Adults/$20 for students, seniors and members. Parking is available on-site.
