Born: August 1, 1874, Columbus County, NC

Education: Whitted School, Durham, NC, graduated 1898

Died: August 1, 1952, Durham, NC

North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, established in 1898, is one of the largest black businesses in America. Its first agent, Spaulding masterminded the company's success.

He personified self-help. “Success is carved out by the chisel of efficiency, integrity, and hard work,” he said. Invoking race pride, “Greatest Negro Insurance Company in the World” appeared on Mutual's stationery in 1909. By 1916 it reported $3 million in policies along with offices in twelve states and Washington, DC. Local assets included Mechanics and Farmers Bank, a real estate firm, drugstore, and two newspapers. During the Great Depression, it reduced operations and recovered in the robust post–World War II economy.

Spaulding preached black unity, economically and politically; civil rights, especially use of the ballot; and interracial cooperation. A loyal New Deal Democrat, he urged equal relief and opportunity, “liberty and justice for all.” Cofounder of Durham Committee's on Negro Affairs, he helped increase black voting, which leveraged concessions like better schools. He also signed the Durham Manifesto (1942) against Jim Crow. Fifty-seven signers, all influential southern blacks, were “fundamentally opposed to the principle and practice of compulsory segregation.” Their statement forecast the President's Committee on Civil Rights (1947) and desegregation in the South and nation.