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Inez Beverly Prosser

Patrick Yerkes

Pg. 198

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Background

  • Born in 1895
    • Died 1934
  • Oldest of 11 children
  • Lived in Texas
  • Graduated as valedictorian of Yoakum Colored School in 1910
  • Graduated with her teaching certificate in 1912
    • Prairie View State
  • Bachelor's Degree in 1926
    • Samuel Hudson College
    • Degree in Arts
    • Minor in english and psychology

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  • Married 1916 Allen Rufus Prossner

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Background Continued

  • Went to graduate school
    • Graduated in 1927 with a Masters degree of arts in Education- University of Colorado
    • Earned a Phd at University of Cincinnati (‘33)
  • After high school worked at Anderson High School until 1927
    • Taught english
  • Job at Tillotson College 1927
      • African- American college in Austin
      • Dean, Registrar, and Professor of Education
  • 1930 went to Tougaloo College
    • Mississippi
    • Principle of Tougalo College

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Central Ideas

  • Believed that African- American students did better in segregated schools
    • However, did not believe segregation was the answer
    • Students were not nurtured in mixed schools
  • Better education for African- Americans
  • Empowered females
  • Created advanced teaching programs

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Historical Perspective 1900’s

  • Between 1876-1920; 10,000 Phds awarded
    • 11 African- Americans
  • Woodrow Wilson Administration
    • Separated federal buildings and Navy
  • Chinese and Asian Exclusion Acts
  • U.S. v. Sandoval, Supreme Court
    • Native Americans are inferior
  • Ku Klux Klan rebirth (1915)
  • United States told France to segregate troops during WW1
  • Segregated neighborhoods
  • 1919- Red Summer
    • 25 Race Riots

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  • 1920 Women’s right to vote
  • Immigration Laws
  • 1925
    • Psychologist argue mental differences between races

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Historical Perspective

  • States would not allow interracial marriages
    • Most states that had this law would enforce punishments
  • Separate street cars and public buildings
      • Enforced by most states
  • Rioting
  • “Great Migration”
      • African- Americans moving North
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People )NAACP was founded in 1909
    • Members of Niagara movement came here

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Historical Perspective

  • SAT test developed in 1926
  • Lum v Rice 1927
    • Asians were not allowed to attend white schools
  • KKK’s march on Pennsylvania Ave 1928
  • Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment 1932-72
    • Gave African- Americans syphilis
      • No effective treatments were given
  • FDR Administration
    • Was favored by African- �Americans for his promise of a “Black Cabinet”

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Dissertation - Historical Article

  • Thesis- Compare personality differences of African- American students in segregated and mixed schools
    • In Cincinnati
  • Mary Crowley did a similar study
    • Failed to find academic differences
    • Prosser argued that the test didn’t account for the environment
  • Focused on student body in:
    • Segregated and Mixed schools

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  • “Mere knowledge of books, however profound, cannot compensate for a warped, maladjusted personality embittered by unhealthy contacts”
    • Prosser wrote
  • Believed the environment played a role in academic success

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Dissertation Conclusion

  • Mixed Schools African- Americans felt :
    • Introverted
    • Less secure in social settings
    • Poor relationships in the family
    • Inferior
    • Poor Relation to white teachers
    • Eager to leave and go to work
  • Some student were able to be successful
    • If they had the personality

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  • African- Americans did better in voluntary segregated schools
    • Nurtured more
    • Better relationships
    • More likely to go to college
    • Strong family relationship

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Teaching Efforts 1932

  • Went back to Mississippi
    • Advance teacher training in African- American schools
  • Summer school programs in Jackson College ‘34
  • Wrote 7 articles
    • Mississippi Educational Journal
    • Focused on; letter writing, english literature, composition, vocab building, and grammar

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Current Articles

  • #1
  • Inez Beverly Prosser and the Education of African Americans
    • Ludy T. Benjamin Jr., Keisha D. Henry, Lance R. Mcmahon
    • Described entire life
      • Career, education, and opportunities on African- Americans
  • #2
  • America’s First Black Psychologist
    • Ludy T. Benjamin Jr
    • APA published
    • Describes achievements

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Prosser’s Legacy

  • Died September 5th, 1934
    • Head on car collision
      • Severe injuries
    • Gravestone reads, “How many hopes lie here”
  • Supported family
    • Paid for 5 siblings to go to college
    • All siblings finished high school
  • Promoted education and encouraged African- Americans to go to college
  • Started a movement for African- American women to fight for education
  • Showed personality differences of mixed and segregated schools
  • Influenced Brown v Board of Education
    • People wanted no bias white teachers
  • Environment plays a role in education

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Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o15-K9jWlms

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References

  • Benjamin, L. J., 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. doi:10.1002/jhbs.20058
  • Bazar, Jennifer. "Profile." Psychology's Feminist Voices. Psychology's Feminist Voices, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.
  • GoodTherapy. "Inez Beverly Prosser (1895-1934)." Good Therapy. Good Therapy.org, 27 July 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.
  • Benjamin, Ludy T., Jr. "America's First Black Female Psychologist." Pardon Our Interruption. American Psychological Association, 2008. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.
  • "American Racial History Timeline, 1900-1960." Occidental Dissent. N.p., 26 Jan. 2012. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.