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The Coleman Manufacturing Company (1899–1904) was the first cotton mill in the United States owned and operated by African Americans, located in Concord, North Carolina. == Company established (1897)== The company was established in 1897 primarily by black North Carolinian capitalists. Their idea was to establish a cotton mill that would be entirely managed and operated by blacks, since all the cotton mills in North Carolina, and the South overall, would only employ blacks in menial positions. Richard B. Fitzgerald was its first president, Edward A. Johnson its first vice-president (and was later president), and Warren C. Coleman was its first secretary, treasurer, and manager. The initial board of directors was S. C. Thompson, L. P. Berry, John C. Dancy, S. B. Pride, C. F. Meserve, and Robert McRae. About $50,000 was subscribed, which soon increased to $100,000, by "several hundred" African Americans, mainly living in or near Concord; a few white philanthropists, such as Benjamin N. Duke who subscribed $1,000 (at six-percent interest), also invested in the capital stock of the company.〔〔 The mill was to have between 7,000 and 10,000 spindles, and from 100 to 250 looms, and, according to their charter, was "allowed to spin, weave, manufacture, finish, and sell warps, yarns, cloth, prints, or other fabrics made of cotton, wool, or other material".〔Richings, G. F. ''Evidences of Progress Among Colored People''. Geo. S. Ferguson Co., Philadelphia, 1905. 483.〕 The mill had "a 270 horse power Corliss engine there and machinery that will compare favorable with any in or around Boston".〔Du Bois, W. E. Burghardt (ed.). ''Economic Co-operation among Negro Americans. Report of a Social Study made by Atlanta University, under the Patronage of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D. C., together with the Proceedings of the 12th Conference for the Study of the Negro Problems, held at Atlanta University, on Tuesday, May the 28th, 1907''. The Atlanta University Press, Atlanta, 1907. 159-160.〕 Apparently, most if not all of the equipment, described as inefficient "second-hand English" equipment by one source, was purchased used by Coleman, which eventually caused production problems.〔 On February 8, 1898, the cornerstone of the 80×120 feet, three-story brick building was laid "with Masonic honors".〔 Four-room mill houses were built by April 1900, and were rented out at about $3 per month to the employees of the mill.〔''Reports of the Industrial Commission, by the United States Industrial Commission''. Volume II. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1901. 505-8.〕 Local black laborers and artisans initially accepted stock as payment for their work in the construction of the mill, but most soon decided to accept only money instead of more stock, and many workers quit due to the inability of Coleman to raise the necessary amount of cash at that time.〔 During the Paris Exposition of 1900, in Paris, France, the mill was touted as evidence of progress among African Americans in the United States, in an exhibit titled the "Negro Exhibit," put together by W. E. B. Du Bois, and photographs of the mill were displayed.〔Gilman, N.P. ''Social Economics at the Paris Exposition''. Bulletin of the Department of Labor, Vol. VI, No. 34, May. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1901. 471.; Prints & Photographs Online Catalog - African American Photos for Paris Exposition. (Library of Congress )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Coleman Manufacturing Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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