9 Black groundbreaking women who were about their business

Long before Black Twitter and TikTok began “standing on business,” there was a long legacy of Black women who were about their business. Today, Black women are no strangers to the business world; from women climbing the ranks of major corporations to launching empires of their own, JPMorgan reports Black women are behind nearly 2.7 million businesses in the U.S., making them the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs.  While there was a significant spike in entrepreneurship as the world shifted in 2020, Black excellence in business existed long before then. Black women like Ursula M. Burns and Cathy Hughes walked so that modern-day businesswomen like Oprah Winfrey and Issa Rae could run. From innovative startups to corporate giants, these women exemplify resilience, creativity, and unwavering determination, proving that success can transcend race and gender.  Maggie Lena Walker  Maggie Lena Walker, the first African-American woman in the United States to found a bank. (Photo credit: National Park Service U.S Department of the Interior) In 1903, Maggie Lena Walker chartered the Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Va., making her the first Black woman to charter a bank in the United States. In addition to segregation, at the time, the banking and...