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Charles Clinton Spaulding (August 1, 1874 – August 1, 1952) was an American business leader. For close to thirty years, he presided over North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, which became America's largest black-owned business, with assets of over 40million
Spaulding was born in Columbus County, North Carolina to Benjamin Mack Spaulding, Senior (1845–1921) and Margaret Ann Virginia Moore (1849–1920).
He started out as a dishwasher and became general manager of a grocery company. In 1898, John Merrick, the owner of several barber shops, and Aaron M. Moore, a practicing physician, founded an insurance company, then named North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association. Merrick and Moore employed Spaulding in 1899 and he soon became general manager. After Moore's death in 1923, Spaulding took over as NC Mutual's president, serving until 1952.
The company specialized in "industrial insurance", which was basically burial insurance. The company hired salesmen whose main job was to collect small payments (of about 10 cents) to cover the insured person for the next week. If the person did die while insured, the company immediately paid benefits of about 100 dollars. This covered the cost of a suitable funeral, which was a high-prestige item in the black community.
Spaulding died on his 78th birthday in
The African American RegistryGreat People of Color
Charles Clinton Spaulding (August 1, 1874 – August 1, 1952) was an American business leader. For close to thirty years, he presided over North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, which became America's largest black-owned business, with assets of over 40million US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
at his death.
Biography
Spaulding was born in Columbus County, North Carolina to Benjamin Mack Spaulding, Senior (1845–1921) and Margaret Ann Virginia Moore (1849–1920).
He started out as a dishwasher and became general manager of a grocery company. In 1898, John Merrick, the owner of several barber shops, and Aaron M. Moore, a practicing physician, founded an insurance company, then named North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association. Merrick and Moore employed Spaulding in 1899 and he soon became general manager. After Moore's death in 1923, Spaulding took over as NC Mutual's president, serving until 1952.
The company specialized in "industrial insurance", which was basically burial insurance. The company hired salesmen whose main job was to collect small payments (of about 10 cents) to cover the insured person for the next week. If the person did die while insured, the company immediately paid benefits of about 100 dollars. This covered the cost of a suitable funeral, which was a high-prestige item in the black community.
Spaulding died on his 78th birthday in Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
.
Leadership roles
Spaulding provided leadership in the National Negro Insurance Association and the National Negro Bankers Association by 1920. In 1942, the New York Chamber of Commerce, mainly a white body, elected him to membership. He served as a trustee forHoward University
Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
, Shaw University
Shaw University is a private historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the fo ...
, and North Carolina College at Durham.
He was also active in politics. He helped establish the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs in 1935, serving as its first chairman. As national chairman of the Urban League
The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...
's Emergency Advisory Council from 1930 to 1939, he campaigned to secure New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
jobs for African-Americans.
Awards and honors
In 1926 Spaulding was awarded the Harmon Foundation Gold Medal for distinguished achievement in business.Shaw University
Shaw University is a private historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the fo ...
, Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...
and Atlanta University conferred honorary Doctorates of Law on him.
Spaulding was recognized alongside John Merrick and Richard Fitzgerald as Main Honorees by the Sesquicentennial Honors Commission at the Durham 150 Closing Ceremony in Durham, NC on November 2, 2019. The posthumous recognition was bestowed upon the group for their contributions to Durham as innovative leaders who established one of the nation's strongest African American entrepreneurial enclaves.
Notes
Sources
The African American Registry
Further reading
*. * Weare, Walter B. ''Black Business in the New South: A Social History of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company'' (Univ of Illinois Press, 1973). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spaulding, Charles Clinton American business executives American businesspeople in insurance Clark Atlanta University alumni Tuskegee University alumni 1874 births 1952 deaths 20th-century African-American businesspeople Spaulding family People from Columbus County, North Carolina