by daniel johnson
February 17, 2024
Dudley built an empire out of his and his wife's kitchen, eventually founding a school that trained generations of hairdressers.
Joe Louis Dudley Sr., a pioneer in the hair care industry, passed away on February 8th at the age of 86, leaving behind many accomplishments and fond memories.as new york times According to reports, Dudley built an empire out of his and his wife's kitchen and eventually founded a school that trained generations of hairdressers. Dudley's business started as a family business, with Dudley stirring the formula in a steel drum with a large spatula while his wife Eunice created the labels, and by the next morning, the mixture had cooled and solidified. The children screwed on the bottle caps.
From these humble beginnings, the Dudley family took over SB Fuller's business in Chicago, selling products while in college at North Carolina A&T, and then moved the business back to Greensboro, where they built a factory and sold Fuller products there as well. Did. Dudley, like Fuller, later gained a reputation as a sales evangelist and was also a man of deep Christian faith, often employing people who had been incarcerated or had experienced drug problems.
Mr. Dudley required employees to open savings accounts and typically began sales meetings with recycled popular songs and jingles. In 2009, comedian Chris Rock visited his Dudley factory in Kernersville while filming his documentary “Good Hair.” While at the factory, the comedian learned about the relaxer, a powerful curling iron. The economics of chemicals shocked him when he learned that a 7,000-pound container of relaxer was worth about $18,000. Meanwhile, the camera panned to show the Dudley family mansion.
Dudley, named after black boxing legend Joe Louis, was born May 9, 1937 in Aurora, North Carolina, the fifth of 11 children. He stuttered as a child, which caused him to be held back in first grade because his teacher called him “mentally retarded,” an acceptable term at the time. His mother, Clara, encouraged her son: “Prove them wrong, Joe.'' Prove them wrong. “It was a moment that Dudley remembered well and a motto that drove him throughout his life,” said Lafayette Jones, president emeritus of the American Health and Beauty AIDS Institute, an organization of black manufacturers. said this: new york times Dudley was said to have been “the leader of the black care royal family.”
According to the organization, Mr. Dudley received the Horatio Alger Award in 1995, an honor given to “leaders who have overcome adversity.” Other recipients that year were legendary music producer Quincy Jones and Don Shula, the longtime head coach of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated team in NFL history.
Prior to the recession, in 2007 a fire destroyed part of the Dudley hair care factory, where 90% of the products were manufactured. Dudley's daughter, Ursula Dudley Oglesby, a Harvard-educated lawyer, helped her family rebuild the company, and she became its president and chief executive officer, and the company Dudley Beauty Corporation.
At the time of his death from Parkinson's disease, Dudley was still working, and his wife, who also survives him, said she had no plans to quit. In addition to his wife and daughter, Dudley is survived by Joe Louis Dudley Jr., Genia Dudley Giddy, Dudley Sr.'s brothers Elise Little and William, Cornelius, Mardesia, MacArthur, George Dudley; He is survived by his grandchildren. Dudley and his wife divorced on amicable terms in 2000 and remained business partners.
Related content: Uniting the Black Hair Care Industry: One Woman’s Journey to Empowerment
