Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the William Jesse Kennedy Papers, #4925, Southern Historical Collection of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the African American Resources Collection of North Carolina Central University.

Provenance

Received from, and held jointly with, the North Carolina Center for the Study of Black History, North Carolina Central University, April 1998 (Acc. 98076).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

This collection was processed with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Finding Aid Updated by: Amanda Loeb, April 2012; Nancy Kaiser, June 2021

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.

• 4-H clubs.
• African American business enterprises--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• African American businesspeople--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• African American civic leaders--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• African Americans--Education (Higher)--North Carolina.
• African Americans--Education--North Carolina.
• African Americans--North Carolina--Durham--History--20th century.
• African Americans--North Carolina--Religion.
• African Americans--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
• Avery, John Moses, 1876-1931.
• Boy Scouts of America.
• Boys' Clubs of America.
• Civic leaders--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Civil rights--North Carolina.
• Durham (N.C.)--Commerce.
• Durham (N.C.)--History.
• Durham (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Durham Committee of 100.
• Education--North Carolina.
• Insurance companies, American--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Kennedy, William Jesse, 1889-1985.
• Lincoln Hospital (Durham, N.C.).
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
• North Carolina Board of Higher Education.
• North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
• North Carolina--Commerce--History--20th century.
• Recreation--North Carolina.
• Research Triangle Park (N.C.)--History.
• Segregation--North Carolina.
• White Rock Baptist Church (Durham, N.C.)

William Jesse Kennedy Jr., was born in Andersonville, Ga., on 15 June 1889, the son of William Jesse and Katie C. Riley Kennedy. He was educated at Americus Institute in his native state. Later, he studied business administration in Columbia University's Extension Course.

Kennedy worked for Guaranty Life Insurance Company in Savannah, Ga., 1913-1916. He began his career with North Carolina Mutual while in Savannah, where he held the position of district manager. He married Margaret "Mag" Spaulding, sister of North Carolina Mutual president C. C. Spaulding, and relocated to Durham, N.C., where he was office manager/assistant secretary. On 2 August 1952, following the death of C. C. Spaulding, Kennedy was elected the fifth president of the company.

During his lifetime, Kennedy participated in numerous professional and civic activities in addition to his duties as chair of the board of directors at North Carolina Mutual. He served as president of Bankers Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, vice president of Mutual Savings and Loan Association, chair of the board of directors at Mechanics and Farmers Bank, and as a member of the Howard University Board of Trustees. He was a life-long proponent of education and a member of the James E. Shepard Foundation, an organization that awarded scholarships to deserving students attending North Carolina Central University. His other activities included affiliations with the 4-H Club Foundation of North Carolina, the North Carolina Recreation Commission (1945-1956), the American Teachers Association, the Durham Business and Professional Chain, the Boys Clubs of America, and the United Negro College Fund. He maintained an interest in industrial development and was one of the few African Americans active with the Durham Committee of 100, which helped develop Research Triangle Park. As a member of the WTVD Advisory Board, Kennedy helped bring television to Durham in the early 1950s.

In addition to his business-related activities, Kennedy served as Sunday school teacher, treasurer, and trustee at the White Rock Baptist Church. He and his wife had three children: Margaret K. Goodwin (1918- ), Charlotte K. Sloan (1920- ), and William Jesse Kennedy III (1922- ). Kennedy died in Durham on 8 July 1985, at the age of 96.

This collection contains correspondence, speeches, photographs, organizational records, and other items that document the business, civic, social, humanitarian, and professional activities of William Jesse Kennedy Jr. Included are records relating to North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and the White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. There are also materials relating to Kennedy's activities with the Boy Scouts of America, the Boys' Clubs of America, the Durham Committee of 100 (a group focused on promoting social equality), 4-H clubs, Durham's Lincoln Hospital, the NAACP, and the North Carolina Board of Higher Education, among other groups. Also included are deeds and correspondence belonging to Kennedy's mentor, John Moses Avery, and a series of audiotaped interviews with Kennedy's relatives, friends, and associates conducted by Carter Cue in 1994. Materials show Kennedy's contributions to social and economic progress in North Carolina and demonstrate his interest in civil rights, integration, recreation, and industrial development, particularly in the Research Triangle Park.

A volume (SV-4925/1), photographs (P-4925/1-39 and OP-P-4925), oral history cassettes (C-4925/1-13), and oversize certificates and newspaper articles (OP-4925/1-15 and OP-4925/17-20).