Rose Morgan facts for kids

Rose Meta Morgan (born August 9, 1912 – died December 16, 2008) was a very successful businesswoman. She owned and ran the biggest beauty salon for African American women. She also helped start the Freedom National Bank, which was the only commercial bank in New York owned by African Americans.

Rose Morgan's Early Life

Rose Meta Morgan was one of nine children. Her father, Chaptle Morgan, was a former sharecropper who became a businessman. Her mother, Winnie Robinson, was a homemaker. Rose was born in Mississippi but grew up in Chicago.

Rose Morgan's Career Journey

Rose went to the Morris School of Beauty to learn about hair and beauty. In 1938, she styled the hair of a famous performer named Ethel Waters. Ethel was so impressed that she invited Rose to New York City.

Opening a Beauty Salon

Rose started by renting a small space in a salon in Sugar Hill. Just six months later, she opened her own salon called Rose Meta’s House of Beauty. It was located in a large old mansion.

By 1946, her salon had grown a lot. She had 29 employees, including hair stylists, people who gave massages, and nurses. In 1955, the salon moved to a new, bigger location. It reopened as Rose Morgan’s House of Beauty. This new salon had five floors and offered even more services. It included departments for making dresses and a charm school. In 1960, she added a wig salon. An article in Ebony magazine in 1946 called it "the biggest negro beauty parlor in the world."

From the 1960s until she retired in the 1970s, Rose Morgan wrote a column for the New Pittsburgh Courier newspaper. Throughout her career, she trained 3,000 hairdressers in her beauty schools.

Starting a Bank

Rose Morgan also helped create the Freedom National Bank. This bank was special because it was the only commercial bank in New York City owned by African Americans.

Rose Morgan's Personal Life

In 1955, Rose Morgan married the famous heavyweight boxer Joe Louis. Their marriage ended two years later.