Blairton Hampton

Entrepreneur Blairton Hampton was born on November 9, 1947 in Sanford, North Carolina to Joseph Hampton Jr. and Ernestine Rodgers Hampton. He entered the U.S. Armed Forces in 1968 and served for twenty-one years, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. He then enrolled at American University in Washington, D.C. earning his B.S. degree in business administration in 1975.

Hampton moved to Burlington, North Carolina in 1980 and was hired by the North Carolina National Bank, where he worked for seven years. In 1987, Hampton founded Century Products, LLC, a janitorial equipment and sales company, in Greensboro, North Carolina and served as its president and CEO until his retirement in 2020. His major clients included the Burger King Corporation, the Empire Brush Company, Hardee’s Restaurants, LLC, and the McDonald’s Corporation.

In 1995, Hampton founded and organized the Black-Owned Suppliers Association in partnership with other prominent Black suppliers to McDonald’s, serving as an active member for twenty-five years. Hampton also held positions on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Board, the Guilford Heart and Stroke Association Board, and the Cone Health Alamance Regional Philanthropy Board. Hampton volunteered and served on the board of directors for the American Heart Association, where in 2017 he launched the Minority Leaders Luncheon on Cardiovascular Health alongside Gerry McCants and Heart Walk directors Cory Phillips and Garet Beane. In 2018, Hampton collaborated with the American Heart Association, Mount Zion Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Guilford County Health Department to establish the Hampton Family Community Health Initiative and the Hampton Family Mobile Kitchen, delivering healthy cooking courses to under-served communities across North Carolina’s greater Guilford County area.

During his career, Hampton received numerous honors and awards including the Minority Small Business Person of the Year Award from the Small Business Administration in 2014.

Hampton lives with his wife, Brenda Carol Parker, in Elon, North Carolina. They have two sons, Brandon Hampton and Brent Hampton, who has succeeded his father as the owner and CEO of Century Products, LLC.

Blairton Hampton was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 18, 2023.