Inez Beverly Prosser

Inez Beverly Prosser was born in Texas on December 30, probably in the year 1895, the oldest of 11 children.

Despite facing the significant obstacles of racism and sexism, her academic achievements were impressive. Prosser graduated at the top of her class from both her high school and Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College. The state of Texas did not award graduate degrees to black Americans at the time, so Prosser enrolled in the University of Colorado to obtain her master's degree in education, where she also took psychology courses.

In 1931, Prosser received a grant to conduct doctoral research in teaching and education, and she enrolled in the University of Cincinnati, where she became the first black American women to receive a PhD in psychology in 1933.

Prosser evaluated the effects of racial inequality on the mental health of black American children in her dissertation, "The Non-Academic Development of Negro Children in Mixed and Segregated Schools." She believed that the social aspects of integration may have damaging effects on black American children's self-esteem, while segregated schools provided a more supportive, nurturing environment.  She argued that persistent inequality led to feelings of isolation and low socioeconomic status and that children's futures and learning opportunities were persistently limited by racism. She acknowledged, however, that this argument was not an absolute truth and that certain personality types may thrive in integrated schools.

Prosser's influence on education was felt across many fields. During the debates over school segregation in the 1920s, many of her arguments were cited. She was a critical voice for the black American community at a time when women academics were scarce.