A Lelia Bundles

A’Lelia Bundles was born on June 7, 1952, in Indianapolis, Illinois, into a family with a legacy of civic engagement and entrepreneurship. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Madam C. J. Walker and the great-granddaughter of A’Lelia Walker, figures prominent in Black history and the Harlem Renaissance. Bundles attended North Central High School, graduating in the top five percent of her class in 1970. She then pursued higher education at Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, earning a magna cum laude degree in 1974. During her time there, she was also inducted into Harvard’s Alpha Iota chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. She continued her academic pursuits at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she obtained her master’s degree in 1976.

Bundles established a distinguished career in television news, beginning as a producer with NBC News. Her work at NBC spanned their New York, Houston, and Atlanta bureaus, contributing to programs such as “The Today Show” and “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.” She later joined ABC News, serving as director of talent development in Washington, D.C., and New York, and as deputy bureau chief in Washington, D.C. She also worked as a producer for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.” Throughout her thirty-year career in network television news, she accumulated valuable experience in journalism and production.

Beyond her media career, A’Lelia Bundles is an author and historian. Her book, “On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker,” published in 2001, was a New York Times Notable Book and received acclaim for its contribution to Black women’s history. The book also served as the inspiration for the 2020 Netflix mini-series “Self Made.” Her earlier young adult book, “Madam C. J. Walker: Entrepreneur” (1991), earned her an American Book Award in 1992. Bundles has contributed to numerous encyclopedias and publications, focusing on history, journalism, and social justice. She also maintains the Madam Walker Family Archives and is actively involved with several nonprofit boards, including the National Archives Foundation.