Oral history interview with Asa T. Spaulding, April 14, 1979 [electronic resource] : interview C-0013-2, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Asa T. Spaulding, longtime actuary at the historically black North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company--and its president from 1959 to 1968--recalls his efforts to prepare Durham, North Carolina, for desegregation. Spaulding grew up in an environment relatively free from discrimination, so after his education at New York University and the University of Michigan, he brought to Durham a determination that racial barriers were artificial and needed to be dismantled. He did so not with overt activism, but by using his influence to bring together white and black business leaders at North Carolina Mutual. These business meetings not only brought together creative thinkers, they also modeled successful integration before the civil rights movement had scored its victories in the early 1960s. In this interview, Spaulding reflects on how his growing influence as a business leader allowed him to make unique contributions to dismantling segregation in Durham. Researchers and students might also consult the two other interviews with Spaulding in this collection, C-0013-1 and C-0013-3. Those interested in learning more about the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and black business in the South might turn to the interviewer's book, Black Business in the New South: A Social History of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Electronic resources
Record details
- Physical Description: 1 online resource
- Edition: Electronic edition
- Publisher: [Chapel Hill, N.C.] : University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2008.
Content descriptions
- General Note:
- Duration: 02:01:39.Interview participants: Asa T. Spaulding, interviewee; Walter Weare, interviewer.Text encoded by Kristin Shaffer. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.Title from menu page (viewed on June 2, 2008).
- Type of Computer File or Data Note:
- Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 137.0 kilobytes, 222 megabytes.
- Original Version Note:
- Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series C, Notable North Carolinians, interview C-0013-2, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Dorothy M. Casey. Original transcript: 35 p.
- Funding Information Note:
- Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.
- System Details Note:
- Mode of access: World Wide Web.System requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Spaulding, Asa T. (Asa Timothy), 1902-1990 > Interviews.
Lowry family.
North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
African American business enterprises > North Carolina > Durham.
African American executives > North Carolina > Durham > Interviews.
African Americans > Civil rights > North Carolina > Durham.
Segregation > North Carolina > Durham.
Durham (N.C.) > Politics and government.
Durham (N.C.) > Race relations. - Genre:
- Oral histories.
Accessibility Features
Summary:
Asa T. Spaulding, longtime actuary at the historically black North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company--and its president from 1959 to 1968--recalls his efforts to prepare Durham, North Carolina, for desegregation. Spaulding grew up in an environment relatively free from discrimination, so after his education at New York University and the University of Michigan, he brought to Durham a determination that racial barriers were artificial and needed to be dismantled. He did so not with overt activism, but by using his influence to bring together white and black business leaders at North Carolina Mutual. These business meetings not only brought together creative thinkers, they also modeled successful integration before the civil rights movement had scored its victories in the early 1960s. In this interview, Spaulding reflects on how his growing influence as a business leader allowed him to make unique contributions to dismantling segregation in Durham. Researchers and students might also consult the two other interviews with Spaulding in this collection, C-0013-1 and C-0013-3. Those interested in learning more about the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and black business in the South might turn to the interviewer's book, Black Business in the New South: A Social History of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
