This is the first program in the Great Homes and Gardens lecture series.

A'Lelia Bundles returns to Hillwood to share vintage photographs and stories from Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, the first major biography of her great-grandmother and namesake. Best known as the daughter of millionaire entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, A'Lelia Walker was a charismatic influencer and arts patron in her own right who traveled internationally and hosted some of the Jazz Age's most memorable soirees at her Westchester mansion, Harlem townhouse and uptown pied-a-terre.

A'Lelia will sign copies of  Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance following the lecture.

Images courtesy of A'Lelia Bundles.

PROGRAM TIMELINE

5:30–6:30 p.m. | Explore Hillwood

• Enjoy Hillwood’s mansion, gardens, and greenhouse.
• Find the perfect memento from your visit at the museum shop.
• Members receive an extra 10% off regularly priced merchandise when they attend in person on the day of the event. This offer does not extend to online or telephone purchases.

6:00–6:30 p.m. | Members-only wine and cheese reception. Join today!

6:30–7:30 p.m. | Lecture 

7:30 p.m. | Book signing.  Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance is available in the museum shop.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

A’Lelia Bundles is the author of five books including Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, a biography of her great-grandmother whose parties, arts patronage and convenings helped shape the social and cultural scene of that era. On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, a New York Times Notable Book about her entrepreneurial great-great-grandmother, is the fact-based biography that inspired Self Made, a fictional four-part Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer.

A'Lelia is a board member of the March On! Festival, the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women at Harvard Radcliffe Institute, BIO (Biographers International), Columbia Global Reports and the National Archives Foundation. She founded the Madam Walker Family Archives, the largest private collection of Walker ephemera, photographs and correspondence.

A’Lelia was a network television producer for thirty years, first at NBC News and then at ABC News, where she was Washington, DC deputy bureau chief and director of talent development.

ABOUT THE GREAT HOMES AND GARDENS LECTURE SERIES 

Escape February’s dreariness and immerse yourself in the stories of extraordinary homes, lush gardens, and the people who brought them to life in this four-part lecture series.