Emmitt R. Wisby Sr.
Dublin Core
Title
Emmitt R. Wisby Sr.
Subject
Segregation;African American families;Mixed-race heritage;Family businesses;Ice cream parlor;Meat market;Rooming house;Carpentry;Construction industry;Vocational education;Lifeguarding;Cotton Compresses;Seatrain docks;Real estate/rental properties;Entrepreneurship;Education;Trade skills;Track and field;Community development;Black contractors;Intergenerational business
Description
[ohms]
This oral history documents the life of Emmitt R. Wisby, Sr., born in 1936 in Galveston, Texas, who grew up in Texas City during the segregation era and later became a successful contractor and carpentry educator in Oklahoma City. Wisby shares memories of his mixed-race family heritage, his parents' businesses including an ice cream parlor and meat market, his experiences during the 1947 Texas City Disaster, and his journey from learning carpentry as a teenager to establishing his own construction company and teaching the trade for seventeen years. The interview covers themes of family entrepreneurship, segregation-era education and work, community life in Black Texas City, and intergenerational business building.
This oral history documents the life of Emmitt R. Wisby, Sr., born in 1936 in Galveston, Texas, who grew up in Texas City during the segregation era and later became a successful contractor and carpentry educator in Oklahoma City. Wisby shares memories of his mixed-race family heritage, his parents' businesses including an ice cream parlor and meat market, his experiences during the 1947 Texas City Disaster, and his journey from learning carpentry as a teenager to establishing his own construction company and teaching the trade for seventeen years. The interview covers themes of family entrepreneurship, segregation-era education and work, community life in Black Texas City, and intergenerational business building.
Date
2025-05-28
Format
video
Identifier
2025OH_AAE001
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Yolanda McCormick
Interviewee
Emmitt R. Wisby
OHMS Object
Interview Keyword
Wisby, Ernie;Wisby, Artis;Wisby, Ernie, Jr.;Reed, Lillie Evans, F.D.;Price, Martha;Simien, Hortense;Wisby, Michael, Sr.;Taylor, Richard;Dawson, Jim;Texas City, (Tex.);Galveston,(Tex.);Sugarland, (Tex.);Augustine, (Tex.);Oklahoma City, (OK.);Houston, (Tex.);La Marque, (Tex.);Tuskegee, (AL);Barbour's Chapel Baptist Church;Greater New Hope Baptist Church;Douglas High School;Tuskegee Institute;Texas Southern University;SAGE;John Sealy Hospital;Emmitt R. Wisby Construction Company;Emmitt R. Wisby and Son Company;Jim Dawson Construction Company
Files
Collection
Citation
“Emmitt R. Wisby Sr.,” The Oral History Archive at Moore Memorial Public Library, accessed November 5, 2026, https://texascitylibrary-oralhistory.org/items/show/78.