East Side Oral History Project

During Reconstruction, Corsicana’s Black citizens began forging new communities that would forever influence and shape our small town.

Corsicana’s East Side Oral History Project gathers and preserves historical evidence about the lifeways of Black Corsicanans from the end of the Civil War to the end of the 20th century.

Using recorded interviews we learn about the exploits of local leaders while exploring the events, values, politics, businesses, and neighborhoods that made communities on the eastside so vibrant. 

As the first independent organizations established by free Black Corsicanans, special attention is paid to the history of the Black church, which not only fed spiritual needs, but often addressed the social, financial and educational gaps people experienced in a segregated landscape.