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The Life of Inez Beverley Prosser

Early Life

Inez Beverly Prosser was born on December 30, 1897 in San Marcos, Texas to Samuel Andrew and Veola Hamilton Beverly. At the time of 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 11 children (Warren, 1999). Not much is known of her earlier years, however it is noted that she was the oldest daughter of eleven children. Prosser graduated valedictorian from Yoakum Colored High School in 1912 and then went on to receive a degree in teacher training from Prairie View Normal College where she was also valedictorian (Warren, 1999). After receiving her degree she went back to Yoakum and taught for a short time at their segregated schools.

        This recognition as an excellent leader had given her the chance from 1929 to 1930 to coordinate a series of lectures that featured a visit by George Washington Carver (Warren, 1999). Then from 1921 to 1930 Prosser served as dean and registrar at Tillotson College and in 1931 she was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation General Education Board Fellowship because of her excellent and well known work as a teacher (Warren, 1999). During Inez Beverly Prosser's lifetime she was also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Hays, 1996). She also established a fund, all while completing her own education, which enabled her sisters and brothers to obtain a college education (Hays, 1996).

Prosser then accepted a teaching position in Austin, where she took up classes at Samuel Huston College (Benjamin Jr., Henry, & McMahon, 2005). In approximately 1924, she graduated with distinction from Samuel Huston with a major in education (Warren, 1999). Prosser began teaching immediately upon graduating at several of the so-called "colored" elementary and high schools around the Austin-area where she remained until 1927 (Benjamin Jr., Henry, & McMahon, 2005). She spent the majority of this time as a faculty member of Anderson High School where she taught English and coached a girls team for spelling competitions. During this period, Prosser met and married Allen Rufus Prosser, who worked as an elevator operator at a department store in Austin, and the two were married in 1916 (Warren, 1999).

Education

   All the Beverly children were encouraged by their parents, and aided by Prosser, who helped fund the education of several of them, Prosser’s siblings all graduated high school and six of them, including Prosser, eventually received college degrees. Her academic achievements were impressive. Prosser graduated at the top of her class from both her high school and from Prairie View Normal College (Warren, 1999). After receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1924 and receiving top honors and several awards for her accomplishments, she transferred to the University of Colorado to get her master’s degree in psychology and went on to the University of Cincinnati, where she made history when she became one of the first African-American women to receive a PhD in psychology in 1933 ( Benjamin Jr., Henry, & McMahon, 2005). Because of lack of records on Prosser it was hard to find any mentors who she may have had at the time. But Warren states that, “Prosser was mentored closely by her Doctoral advisor and developed a close friendship with them” (1999).
Prosser worked professionally throughout her pursuit of higher education. She held positions at many schools, and not only taught, but also became assistant principal (Warren, 1999). Although racial discrimination was rampant, Prosser continued to accept minimal wages for work that rivaled or exceeded that of her white colleagues (Benjamin Jr., Henry, & McMahon, 2005). In Prosser’s case, according to Warren, “ Although, her dissertation research was in psychology, her doctoral mentor and other members of her committee were psychologists, and much of her coursework was in psychology, she is often denied her well-deserved title of psychologist” (1999). Prosser’s life was ended tragically by a car accident in 1934. If her life had not ended so soon, it is hard telling how many more contributions to Psychology she would have made. 
    Prosser had made many contributions to Psychology in her short life time. Prosser posed a powerful argument regarding the effects of racial inequality on the mental health of African-American children (Guthrie, 1976). In her dissertation, she discussed optional education avenues, exploring reasons for providing children the opportunity to be educated according to their ability, not their socio-economic status. She cited examples of psychological stress in students incurred as a result of racial discrepancies and racial isolation (Guthrie, 1976).  Prosser voiced her support for segregated schools and the reasons they benefited students and staff, and also provided reasons for which this segregation was detrimental to all students and individuals involved. Prosser’s contributions to education were felt across many fields. During the debates over school segregation in the 1920’s, many of her arguments were cited (Hays, 1996). She was a critical voice for the African-American community at a time when women academics were scarce. Prosser’s contributions to the improvement of education for all students can be felt in many policies still being used throughout the teaching community today.

Her Dissertation

Because Prosser’s life was cut short she was only able to begin the research for her doctoral dissertation, titled "Non-academic development of negro children in mixed and segregated schools," in November of 1931 (Prosser, 1927). Because her research is not finished, it is hard to obtain copies. The project was designed as a companion to a dissertation completed in 1931 by Mary Crowley in which the academic achievement of African American students was compared between segregated and integrated schools (Hays, 1996). Crowley, who was the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Hamilton County in Ohio, helped Prosser obtain permissions at various schools to conduct her research. Although Prosser and Crowley both asked about the differences between the segregated and integrated schools, Prosser focused on non-academic variables (Prosser, 1927). Crowley had concluded that there were no differences in students' academic achievement between the two types of schools; Prosser, conversely, found that African American students did better in segregated schools (Prosser, 1927).

  Prosser found that students enrolled in racially mixed schools were found to be more introverted, struggle more with social maladjustment, and experience more dissatisfaction with family and teacher relationships, among other factor (Prosser, 1927). 

Prosser's research was based on a small sample size, 32 matched pairs of students, and acknowledged in her dissertation that some of her conclusions were based on non-significant statistical results (Hays, 1996). She further concluded that different personality types may do better in mixed schools. In her dissertation, Prosser argues that racial injustices and feelings of isolation have damaging effects on the psyche of Black children (Prosser, 1927). The effects are even more detrimental with the standards of living as it applies to socioeconomic status. Even though, her sample size was small (64 students), she refrained from making absolute suggestions (Hays, 1996). She argued that school selection should be based on the student’s personality, as some do well in integrated schools while others benefit from segregated schools (Prosser, 1927). She believed that most Black students receive a more balanced curriculum, affection, support, and family-school consistency in segregated schools. She also noted that segregated schools not only provided job opportunities, but also "a more nurturing environment" for Black teachers as well as students (Benjamin, Jr., Henry, & McMahon, 2005). This research by Prosser was one of several studies in the 1920s and 1930s that was part of the debate on segregated schools as maintained in the United States under the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson (Hays, 1996). Between 1933 and 1934, Prosser also published a series of seven articles in the Mississippi Educational Journal, the official journal of the Mississippi Association of Teachers in Colored Schools. The articles focused on various topics related to teaching English including writing skills, vocabulary, and grammar (Benjamin, Jr., Henry, & McMahon, 2005).

Works Cited

Benjamin Jr., L. T., Henry, K. D., & McMahon, L. R. (2005). Inez Beverly Prosser and

the education of African Americans. Journal Of The History Of The Behavioral Sciences,

41(1), 43-62

Guthrie, R. V. (1976). Even the rat was white: A historical view of psychology. New York:

Harper & Row.

Hays, D.M. (1996). The race, ethnicity, and gender issues at the University of Colorado: 1876-

1995. Unpublished paper

Prosser, I. B. (1927). The comparative reliability of objective tests in English grammar.

Unpublished Master's thesis. University of Colorado. Boulder, CO.

Warren, W. (1999). Black women scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana 

Press.