According to USAfacts.org published February 2011, Nineteen percent of all employer-based businesses were female-led. When comparing women-owned businesses of all racial categories, African American women have the highest percentage of ownership compared with men in their racial category. We kick off Black History Month with our series on Black Business ownership. Black businesses originated in the days of slavery. By the 1890s, thousands of small business opened in urban areas. America would see the largest increase in the early 20th century.