Inez Beverly Prosser (c. 1895 - September 5, 1934) was a psychologist, teacher and school administrator. She is often regarded as the first African-American female to receive a Ph.D in psychology. Her work was very influential in the hallmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling. After growing up in Texas, Prosser was educated at Prairie View Normal College, the University of Colorado and the University of Cincinnati. She was killed in a car accident a short time after earning her doctorate.
Early life
Despite prior claims that have been made stating that Prosser was born to Samuel Andrew and Veola Hamilton Beverly in Yoakum, Texas on December 30, 1897, both the location and year of Inez's birth are not completely clear. Most published sources do list Prosser's birth year as 1897, but her transcript at the University of Colorado lists 1894; her application for a General Education Board fellowship, written by Prosser herself, lists 1896; and her death certificate lists 1895. Professionals have accepted 1895 as the most likely date. When it comes to birth location, family recollections point to Inez being born in San Marcos, Texas, a small town between Austin and San Antonio. The family was believed to not move to Yoakum until 1900. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a waiter. Prosser was the eldest daughter and the second of eleven children.
During her youth, there were few educational opportunities for African-Americans, and her family moved many times to seek the best education they could find for their children. This fact would best explain the move to Yoakum in 1900 as that year would be the same year Inez and her older brother Leon would have started school. In 1907, Prosser and her family left Yoakum for Corpus Christi, Texas, but Inez and her brother Leon only stayed for approximately a year because Corpus Christi did not have a Black high school. Both Inez and her brother went back to Yoakum, staying with family relative until graduating Yoakum Colored School—where Prosser was valedictorian—in 1910 . Prosser almost did not get her family's support to go to college. Prosser's parent felt as if they could only financially send one of their children to college, and they were planning on sending Leon. But when Prosser expressed great interest in education and Leon did not, Prosser was able to enroll for college. To contribute to the household, Prosser started a college fund to support her younger siblings' education. Of the eleven children, all graduated from high school and six went on to earn college degrees. Prosser received a degree in teacher training from Prairie View Normal College (now Prairie View A&M University), where she was also valedictorian.
Education and career
She returned to Yoakum and taught for a short time at their segregated schools. Then, Prosser became an assistant principal at Clayton Industrial School in Manor, Texas, before accepting a more long-term position at Anderson High School. Throughout her time at Anderson, she taught English and coached for the spelling competitions of the Interscholastic League, an organization that sponsored events for Black high school students in athletic and academic contests throughout the state.