Irma Lerma Rangel

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Irma Lerma Rangel
Member of the
Wilhelmina Ruth Delco
Succeeded byRené Orlando Oliveira
(Redistricting)
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 49th district
In office
January 11, 1977 – January 11, 1983
Preceded byGreg Montoya
Succeeded byGerald Hill
(Redistricting)
Personal details
Born(1931-05-15)May 15, 1931
Starr County, Texas, U.S.
DiedMarch 18, 2003(2003-03-18) (aged 71)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeTexas State Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materTexas A&M University–Kingsville
St. Mary's University Law School
OccupationActivist, educator, lawyer

Irma Lerma Rangel (May 15, 1931 – March 18, 2003) was an attorney and Democratic state legislator based in Kingsville, Texas. She was the first Mexican-American woman elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives and the first Mexican-American female attorney in Kingsville.[1][2]

Life

She was the youngest of three daughters. Her father, Presciliano Martinez Rangel, from

Spanish Colonial style
house across from the college campus that Rangel called home until her dying day. Rangel and her sisters grew up in Kingsville, attending the Mexican Ward School for the elementary grades, and the town's only integrated high school.

Rangel and her oldest sister decided to attend the Texas College of Arts and Industries, now

District Attorney's office in Nueces County. She returned to Kingsville, where she opened her own law practice and was the only Hispanic woman attorney in the city.[2]

Career in politics

In 1974, Rangel began her life in politics by running for, and winning, the chairmanship of the Kleberg County Democratic Party. But she had more ambitious goals and decided to run for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. She gathered her girlhood friends, family, and a few newcomers to Kingsville and worked hard to win the seat that would make her the only Hispanic woman in the legislature. On January 11, 1977, she was sworn in as the state representative of the 49th district.[3] In 1993, she closed her successful law practice in order to serve her district as a legislator full-time. Upon her death on March 17, 2003, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus of the Texas House issued a news release, which summarized her legislative career.[4] In 1993, she secured $460 million for the South Texas Border Initiative. In the last legislative session, Representative Rangel passed a bill creating the first professional school in South Texas — Texas A&M Health Science Center - Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy. In 1995, Speaker Pete Laney appointed Rangel Chair of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education.

As the first Mexican-American to head the committee, Rangel led the charge to ensure educational opportunities for all children. Rangel joint-authored and sponsored legislation creating the TEXAS Grant I and Grant II Programs, which have allocated millions of dollars in financial support to low-income students. In response to the Hopwood v. Texas decision, which ended affirmative action at all state colleges and universities, Rangel pioneered landmark legislation in 1997 (House Bill 588) which requires state colleges and universities to admit automatically all students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class.[citation needed]

In 1994, Rangel was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. GEMS television named her Woman of the Year in 1997. In 1998, Rangel became the first Mexican American to receive the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal from the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities. In 2003, the Mexican American Legislative Foundation Inc., sponsored the inaugural Moreno/Rangel Legislative Leadership Program to encourage the involvement of young Hispanics in the political process. Named for Representatives Rangel and Paul C. Moreno of El Paso, then the dean of the Texas House, the program provides undergraduate and graduate students from across Texas an opportunity to gain first-hand political experience working in the legislature. [citation needed]

Death and legacy

Rangel grave marker at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin

Rangel died of breast cancer (as well as ovarian and brain cancers) on March 18, 2003.

Texas State Legislature for almost twenty-six years and papers left in her law office in Kingsville.[citation needed
]

Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School became the first all-girls public school in the State of Texas. Established in collaboration with the Young Women's Preparatory Network and the Dallas Independent School District it serves grades 6th through 12th.[5]

The Texas A&M University Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy is named in her honor due to Texas Education Code § 89.051, which requires "Irma Rangel" to be part of its official name.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Irma Rangel". Britannica Kids. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Rangel profile. University of Texas at Arlington, Center for Mexican American Studies. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "Irma Lerma Rangel". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Texas Legislative Reference Library.
  4. ^ a b Irma Rangel biography. Texas Monthly. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  5. Dallas ISD
    .
  6. ^ "Section 89.051 - The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy". Casetext. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
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