Irma Rangel was the first Mexican woman to become a legislator in Texas. She was looked down on and doubted because of her culture and nationality but she persevered and made incredible strides in the lives of Mexican-American women.

Irma Rangel was born in Kingsville, a town in southern Texas, in 1931. Because this town is so close to Mexico there is a large hispanic population and segregation was still in full effect.

Because of segregation, Irma went to the "Mexican Ward" school when she was young. When she got older she went to the ONLY integrated high school in her town.

Though most white people in this time wanted to keep people of color from coming into their lives and wanted to keep them from being successful, Irma's family refused to be kept down.

They did some things to show people that they were here to stay! Things like building a home in an all white neighborhood.

Irma went to college at Texas A&M University - Kingsville and became a teacher! She taught in a lot of different places; several South Texas towns, Menlo Park, California, and was even a principal in Caracas, Venezuela!

"But I got a certificate to teach business courses in high school and to teach in the elementary grades as well. And so then I taught for fourteen years" - Irma

Next Irma made the big decision to go back to school, law school! When she graduated she became one of the first Hispanic female law clerks for a federal district judge. This means she was a federal judge's assistant.

Little by little she worked her way up. She became one of the first Hispanic female assistant district attorneys in Texas. Then she not only became the first female Hispanic attorney in her hometown, but a partner at her own law firm! This means she was the boss!

But that wasn't enough, she had a mission to make a big difference. She decided to go into politics. She became chairperson of the Kleberg County Democratic Party. In 1976 she ran successfully for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives and became the first Mexican American woman elected to the Legislature.