Charles Clinton Spaulding
(1874-1952)

Charles Clinton Spaulding, warmly known as "C.C.," was a savvy entrepreneur and very successful businessman. He was born on August 1, 1874 in Columbus County, North Carolina to Margaret Moore Spaulding and Benjamin McIver. After spending years helping his father on the family farm, he moved to Durham after graduating from high school. There he managed a local Negro co-op grocery store and through this experience became aware of his business acumen.

About the time of Spaulding's move to Durham, in the late 1890s, John Merrick, a cousin, and Dr. Aaron M. Moore were forming the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association with a mere $350. Struggling to establish the company, Merrick and Moore sought the skills of Spaulding, whose reputation for honesty, integrity, and business development was growing rapidly. Together, they became known as "the Triumverate" or "the Triangle." Advertising, promotion, and strategic hiring were the keys to C.C. Spaulding's successful management strategy. He recruited school teachers--traditional pillars of the African-American community--as part-time insurance representatives. With promotional giveaways such as calendars, matchbooks, and fans, he consistently supported the local barber and beauty shops. Further, by liberally placing ads in the local press he made the company, now know as the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company, a household name.

By 1915, with $3 million dollars of insurance in force, the company had offices in twelve states and the District of Columbia. Upon this foundation, the Triumverate expanded into publishing with two newspapers, a real estate firm, a drug store, and the Farmers and Mechanic Bank. With great fortitude, they survived both the Great Crash and the Depression.

Community service and the betterment of African-American life were important to CC Spaulding. He served as president of the National Negro Business League and supported many Historically Black Colleges serving as a trustee for Howard University, Shaw University, and North Carolina College. In a 1932 address before the Association of Study of Negro Life and History, he stated, "that the business world offered many opportunities for economic advancement for Negroes and that a successful business was the most efficient weapon with which to fight segregation and discrimination."

With only a high school education, Spaulding had built North Carolina Mutual into a company with $43 million dollars in assets. He had four children, Margaret, C.C. Jr., John, and Booker. He died in 1952.