Irma Rangel (Texas politician)
| Irma Lerma Rangel | |
|---|---|
| Texas State Representative from the 43rd District | |
|
In office 1977–2003 |
|
| Preceded by | New district |
| Succeeded by | Juan Manuel Escobar |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 15, 1931 Starr County, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | March 17, 2003 (aged 71) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Resting place | Texas State Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater |
Texas A&M University–Kingsville |
| Occupation | Activist, educator, lawyer |
Texas A&M University–Kingsville
Irma Lerma Rangel (May 15, 1931 – March 17, 2003) was an attorney and Democratic state legislator based in Kingsville, Texas.
She was the youngest of three daughters. Her father, Presciliano Martinez Rangel, from Duval County, was orphaned at an early age and was able to attend school for only one year. Her mother, Herminia Lerma, moved with her parents from Starr County to Kingsville. Presciliano worked in farming, ranching, construction, and business. He became a merchant and owned an appliance store, a furniture store, a plumbing service, two barber shops, and a bar. He helped his wife build a successful dress shop located just off the main street of Kingsville, not restricted to the "Mexican side" of town.
In 1947, when Rangel was a teenager, her parents were able to buy some land near Texas College of Arts and Industries and hoped to build a home. But the land was in the "Anglo-white" district and the neighbors organized against allowing a "Mexican" family to build in their neighborhood. Ultimately, the family was allowed to design and build the 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 Texas A&M University–Kingsville. After graduating with degrees in education, Rangel began teaching in the neighboring community of Robstown. Then she and her oldest sister, Olga, decided to become teachers in an overseas program in Venezuela. This determination to be of service to society and fight for good causes impelled Rangel to return to Texas and attend St. Mary's University Law School. She went on to become one of the first Hispanic female law clerks. After her clerkship with U.S. District Judge Adrian Spears, she became one of the first Hispanic women assistant district attorneys in Texas by working in the 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.
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