Percy Corbin
1918 Influenza
In 1911, Corbin earned his MD from the Leonard School of Medicine at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He first attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., but transferred after one year. Dr. Corbin first opened a medical practice in Salem, Virginia, and he relocated to Pulaski in 1913. He provided needed care to the rural community and also served as the only Black doctor in the area.
In the middle of World War I, history’s most infectious influenza strand killed more than one hundred million people worldwide. Pulaski had five thousand residents; two thousand people in the area contracted the flu. To help with the victims, the Elks Club became a makeshift hospital and local doctors came out of retirement. Schools, churches, and businesses each closed for several weeks during the height of the outbreak. Corbin fought the epidemic alongside four other doctors. Dr. Corbin also traveled to Little Walker Mountain in Little Creek, only accessible by horse and foot, to treat the sick there.
When making housecalls, Dr. Corbin immediately put out fireplaces and opened all the windows. Dr. Corbin is remembered for his “cure.” Differing theories on his medicine exist: some remember a sticky substance being painted on the back of their throats, others credit the success to sulfur, and other people believe the medicine to have been a cough syrup made out of moonshine and rock candy.
His effective and tireless work during the influenza outbreak broke some racial barriers. Doctors worked on both races due to the number of patients during the worst parts of the disease. After the pandemic subsided, Dr. Corbin still worked on Black and white patients. White patients seemed to be particularly impressed with his hard work and decided to stay in his medical practice, becoming lifelong clients.
Civic Engagement
Corbin served as the president of the Pulaski Mutual Savings Society, starting in 1921. He also served as a partner of the Graham, Corbin, and Lewis, Concrete Block Manufacturing Company. In 1923, he built the three-story Corbin Building at 170 West Main Street. This served as the home for his medical practice and other black-owned businesses.
Corbin was part of the following organizations: the Magic City Medical Society, the National Medical Association, the Old Dominion Medical Society, and the Freemasons. Corbin presided over the Pulaski branch of the NAACP. Additionally, he led the local African American branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association, which was named in his honor.
Corbin regularly voted, despite voting restrictions and poll taxes, during the Jim Crow Era. He often encouraged other black Pulaski residents to vote, which caused tension between the racialized communities.
Dr. and Mrs. Corbin spent their lives improving Pulaski’s black community’s access to education and healthcare services. They taught in-home nursing and basic first aid. They routinely traveled all over the country to attend conferences and better improve their community.