Scope and Contents The papers of insurance executive and writer Octave Lilly Jr. reflect both his professional career and his four decades as an active writer. The collection includes correspondence, drafts and published poems and short stories, photographs, and collected works of literature and essays. Materials reflecting his long career with Peoples Life Insurance Company include memoranda, correspondence sent in recognition of a testimonial dinner in Lilly's honor, speeches, and internal and external...

Content Description The National Insurance Association (NIA) was established as the National Negro Insurance Association in Durham, North Carolina, in 1921. Charles Clinton Spaulding, President of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, the nation’s largest African American business, was its inaugural president. The NIA was recognized as the nation’s most effective economic organization for most of the twentieth century, committed to racial uplift and a broad economic and social agenda. It grew to as many...