From 1918 to 1919, Villa Lewaro was the home of Madam C. J. Walker, an African-American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a political and social activist who was the first female self-made millionaire in the United States.

The mansion is an Italianate villa house designed for Walker by Vertner Tandy, the first African-American architect registered in New York,[9][10] and has been considered to be one of his greatest works.

The home was used as a conference center on race relations issues,[11] and as a meeting place for people involved in the Harlem Renaissance, including W. E. B. Dubois and Langston Hughes.

[19] On December 22 of that year, the National Trust's African-American Cultural Heritage Action Fund confirmed the preservation easement, which would protect the historic and architectural qualities of the mansion and its property.

An emigrant from Liberia, Dennis is the owner of Essence magazine and the 1992 founder of Sundial Brands, a skin and hair care products company which is now a division of Unilever.

A change would aid them in the village of Irvington's zoning laws, which provide tax relief for registered historical buildings adaptively re-used for non-residential purposes, such as schools, tours, and specific types of events.

The three-part plan calls for the creation of the Madam C. J. Walker Institute for Women of Color Entrepreneurs dedicated to "educating, empowering and uplifting women of color entrepreneurs" through workshops and seminars, special events related to that charitable purpose, which could attract up to 400 people, and private tours of the house limited to 50 people, fulfilling a requirement of the National Trust for Historic Places that the house be open to the public periodically.

When the show, entitled "Wat U Iz", was finally presented in its entirety on Saturday the 10th, the clothing for the designer's Pyer Moss label included a dress shaped like a jar of peanut butter, a cape made out of hair rollers, and clothing that looked variously like a kitchen mop, an ice cream cone with chaps, an air conditioner, and an old mobile phone.

She knew that no dollar amount could ever satisfy the price tag of freedom — that green sheets of paper & copper coins could never mend souls, heal hearts or undo the evil we’ve endured.

[22] On July 17, 2023, the Board of Trustees issued a special one-year permit for Villa Lewaro to be used as "a historical, educational and cultural facility, specifically, as home to the Madam C.J.