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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | About 30,000 items (42.5 linear feet) |
| Abstract | William A. Clement was an executive of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and a business and civic leader in Durham, N.C. Clement was married to Josephine Dobbs Clement and had six children. The collection contains personal and professional papers of Clement, including correspondence, clippings, speeches, reports, pictures, and other items documenting his family life, career, and business and civic activities, as well as his participation in church and fraternal organizations. Included are letters and other materials relating to North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company; insurance organizations, including American College of Bryn Mawr, Pa. (formerly the American College of Chartered Life Underwriters), the Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, and the National Insurance Association; Penn Community Services (formerly Penn Normal, Industrial and Agricultural School) of St. Helena Island, S.C.; corporate boards, such as Wachovia Bank and North Carolina Central University; civic and fraternal organizations, such as the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Democratic Party, Durham Academy, the Madeira School, Talladega College Alumni Association, the United Fund of Durham and Durham County, and White Rock Baptist Church. There are also photographs, apparently from the 1930s and 1940s, of African American men and women, both portraits and in groups engaged in social activities. |
| Creator | Clement, William A., 1912-2001. |
| Language | English. |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
William A. Clement was born on 6 May 1912 in Charleston, S.C., the son of Arthur John and Sadie Jones Clement, both of whom were employed by North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. William A. Clement worked part-time as an agent for North Carolina Mutual, beginning in 1928, while he was a student at the Avery Institute in Charleston.
William A. Clement graduated from Talladega College, Talladega, Ala., in 1934, with a B.A. degree in mathematics. He joined the staff of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1934, working first as an agent in the Memphis district; then as assistant manager, Charleston district, 1935-1940, then as agency supervisor, 1940-1944, and regional director, 1944-1946, in the regional office in Atlanta. In 1946, Clement moved to Durham, N.C., where he served as assistant to the agency director, 1946-1949; assistant agency director, 1949-1953; associate agency director, 1953-1961; agency director, 1961-1962; vice-president, 1962-1966; vice-president in charge of field operations, 1966; agency vice-president, 1967-1969; senior vice-president, 1969-1976; and executive vice-president, 1976-1978.
Clement became a chartered life underwriter in 1953 and was active in numerous life insurance associations, including serving on the boards of directors of the American College of Life Underwriters (later American College), the Life Insurance Agency Management Association (LIAMA), and the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA), and as president and secretary of the National Insurance Association (NIA).
After his retirement from North Carolina Mutual, Clement formed William A. Clement and Associates, which provided financial management and marketing services with particular focus on minority clients. Clement also served as president of the Security Investment Company of Durham, N.C., a private investment association with a portfolio of real estate and securities holdings.
Clement was a member of the board of directors, executive committee, and finance committee of North Carolina Mutual; and on the boards of directors of the Durham branch of Wachovia Bank and Trust Company, Durham County General Hospital, board of trustees of the Kate B. Reynolds Health Care Trust, and the board of trustees of North Carolina Central University. He was chair of the North Carolina Central Board of Trustees from 1975 to 1981.
Clement was also active in civic affairs, serving as chair of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority; president of the Durham District and vice chair of the Occoneechee Council of the Boys Scouts of America; president of the United Fund of Durham and Durham County; treasurer of Penn Community Services of South Carolina; president of the Talladega College Alumni Association; chair of the committee on education of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People; and Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Prince Hall Masons Grand Lodge of North Carolina. He served as a trustee or director of the Durham Chamber of Commerce, Durham Development Corporation, White Rock Baptist Church, Durham Academy, the Madeira School, and the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Clement was a member of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the Durham Rotary Club, the Governor's Business Council on Arts and the Humanities, the Mayor's Advisory Board for the Revitalization of Downtown Durham, the Foundation for Better Health Care of Durham, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.
For his many services, Clement was awarded the Silver Beaver by the Boy Scouts, 1966; the Crosthwaite Award of the Chicago Insurance Association, 1977; the father of the year award from the Durham Merchants Association, 1968; and an honorary doctorate from North Carolina Central University, 1981, He and Josephine Clement were honorees at the Durham NAACP Freedom Fund dinner in 1980.
Clement married Frances Lawson of Sumter, S.C., on 25 September 1935 and had one daughter Alexine, born 10 June 1936. Frances Lawson Clement died of cancer on 14 December 1940. On 24 December 1941, Clement married Josephine Dobbs, daughter of John Wesley Dobbs of Atlanta, Ga. They had five children: William A., born 22 January 1943; Wesley Dobbs, born 18 April 1946; Arthur John, born 31 December 1948; Kathleen Ophelia, born 3 January 1957; and Josephine Millicent (Jody).
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Scope and Content
Personal and professional papers of African American businesman William A. Clement include correspondence, clippings, speeches, reports, pictures, and other items documenting Clement's activities as insurance industry executive at North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and business and civic leader in Durham, N.C.. There are also materials relating to his activities in church and fraternal organizations and with family members, especially his wife, Josephine Clement. Also included are letters and other materials relating to Penn Community Services (formerly Penn Normal, Industrial and Agricultural School) of St. Helena Island, S.C., including material about the effect of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s on Penn's leadership and direction.
The collection contains material about organizations related to Clement's insurance career, including American College of Bryn Mawr, Pa. (formerly the American College of Chartered Life Underwriters), the Life Insurance Agency Management Association, the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, and the National Insurance Association. Also included is material relating to Clement's service on corporate boards, such as Wachovia Bank and Trust Company, Durham County General Hospital, and North Carolina Central University. There are also files about Clement's participation in civic and fraternal organizations, such as the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority; Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity; the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America; the Democratic Party; Durham Academy; the Madeira School in McLean, Va.; the Durham Rotary Club; Talladega College Alumni Association; the United Fund of Durham and Durham County; the United Negro College Fund; and White Rock Baptist Church.
Also included are photographs, apparently from the 1930s and 1940s, of African American men and women, both portraits and in groups engaged in social activities.
For the most part, the materials are filed as Clement kept them and many of his file titles have been retained. In some cases, information on a particular topic (especially the activities of specific organizations) may be found in more than one series. Researchers are advised to review all possible locations for materials of interest.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Personal Correspondence and Related Papers, 1941-1998.
Arrangement: chronological.
Personal correspondence and related papers of William Clement included letters to and from family, friends, and business associates.
Letters in the 1940s and 1950s are primarily family letters, with many from Josephine Clement to her husband giving news of their children and her daily activities as well as letters to and from Clement's father, A. J. Clement, Sr.; brother, Arthur Clement; sister, Emma Gilkes; father-in-law, John Wesley Dobbs; and children, Alexine, Billy, and Wesley. The earliest letters, one each from 1935 and 1936, are photocopies of letters from Frances Lawson Clement to a friend describing her new husband and her baby.
Letters, 1950-1978, seem to have been kept in Clement's personal file at the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. There are many letters to insurance associates as well as correspondence with family members and friends, Included are letters to and from Watts Hill, Jr.; Maceo Sloan; Aaron Day, vice-president of North Carolina Mutual; and other North Carolina Mutual employees. Letters of 4 and 17 August 1964 relate to Clement's lunch at the White House on 10 August.
Letters after 1978 focus primarily on civic and family activities.
Note that this series contains materials relating to topics that may also be found in other series. Researchers are advised to review all possible locations for materials of interest.
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2. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1930-1984 and undated.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Papers accumulated during Clement's career with North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Most relate to operation of the Agency Department, to sales campaigns, or to training programs.
Material relating to North Carolina Mutual may also be found in other series, particularly in Series 1. Personal Correspondence and Related Material; Series 9. Speeches; Series 11. Clippings; and Series 12. Pictures.
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3. Chartered Life Underwriter, 1946-1979.
Arrangement: chronological.
Material relating to Clement's preparation for the Chartered Life Underwriter exam, 1946-1953, and to his service on the board of directors of the American College of Life Underwriters (later American College).
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Series 4. Penn Community Services, 1957-1971.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Correspondence with Penn Community Services director Courtney Siceloff, trustees, and others; financial records; minutes of board meetings and committee meetings; newsletters; and reports. Clement served as a trustee of Penn Community Services, 1959-1971. He served as treasurer of the organization for some of that time and, during much of that time, he was a member of the finance committee.
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Series 5. North Carolina Central University, 1970-1996.
Arrangement: by function.
Papers relating to Clement's tenure on the board of trustees of North Carolina Central University, 1972-1981; as chair of the board beginning in 1975; and on the board of directors of the NCCU Foundation, 1981-1989. Clement was named to the North Carolina Central trustee board by Governor Bob Scott in 1972. Included is correspondence with chancellors Tyronza Richmond and Alfred N. Whiting, as well as with Harry Groves, dean of the Law School, and Annette Phinazee, dean of the School of Library Science.
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Series 6. Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, 1979-1993.
Arrangement: chronological files followed by alphabetical files.
Papers relating to Clement's service for two six-year terms, 1979-1991, as Durham City Council's appointee on the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. Clement was chair of the Authority, 1985-1987; vice-chair, 1983-1985; and secretary, 1979-1981 and 1987-1989. Included are many materials related to locating an American Airlines hub at Raleigh-Durham.
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Series 7. Masons, 1961-1994.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Papers relating to Clement's participation in the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Clement was Most Worshipful Grand Master of North Carolina and chair of the Committee on Foreign Correspondence. Many of these papers relate to a controversy in 1994 involving activities of Grand Master William Parker. Also included are materials about a testimonial dinner given by the Masons to honor Clement on 1 June 1990, with Benjamin L. Hooks, executive director of the NAACP, as speaker.
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Series 8. Business and Civic Activities, 1934-1996.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Correspondence, brochures, clippings, and other material relating to Clement's business and civic activities. Included are materials about political campaigns to which he contributed or in which he participated, corporate boards of directors on which he served, civic and fraternal organizations in which he was active, church activities, and other activities and organizations. Related material may be found in other series, especially Series 1. Personal Correspondence and Related Material; Series 9. Speeches; Series 11. Clippings; and Series 12. Pictures.
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Series 9. Speeches, 1950s-1990s.
Arrangement: by subject or audience.
Texts of speeches, notes for speeches, material used in speech preparation, correspondence about speaking engagements, and programs for events at which Clement spoke. A few speeches, especially those for specific occasions for which Clement had a file, are filed in other series. See especially Series 2. North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company; Series 3. Chartered Life Underwriter; Series 7. Masons; and Series 8. Business and Civic Activities.
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Series 10. Family, 1930s-1994.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Correspondence and other material related to members of the Clement and Dobbs families. Also included are files about family property in Charleston, S.C., and files about the Clements' overseas travel. Included in the William A. Clement material in this series are four audiocassettes of Clement's personal reflections (C-4024/1-4), which he recorded beginning on 7 October 1992. His notes for them may be found in folder 884.
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Series 11. Clippings, 1944-1994.
Clippings documenting Clement's business and civic activities and those of his wife, Josephine Clement. Some files of clippings related to particular subjects may also be found in other series, including Series 2. North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company; Series 5. North Carolina Central University; Series 6. Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority; and Series 9. Speeches.
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Series 12. Pictures, 1930s-1994.
Arrangement:by subject.
Pictures of William A. Clement alone and in groups, Clement and Dobbs family pictures, and pictures related to Clement's business and civic activities. folders P-4024/15 and P-4024/16 contain many unidentified, undated pictures, apparently from the 1930s-1940s, removed from one or more photo albums. These include portraits of African American men and women, as well as pictures of groups engaged in social activities.
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Items Separated
This collection was processed with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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