Irma Lerma Rangel
162 linear foot
A1989-039; A1999-055; A2003-042
1890-1945 (unknown)
Irma Lerma Rangel was a dynamic personality who never hesitated to do battle for a cause in which she believed. She always credited her successes to her parents, who lovingly taught her independence and gave her a feeling of self-worth. Her sense of loyalty to her family and friends was paramount, and her need to be of service to her community was overwhelming. Born on May 15, 1931, Irma 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 to Kingsville from Starr County, and they worked in the fields, so she was unable to receive an education past third grade. She, too, was orphaned when she was only eleven years old. When she met Pres (as he was generally called), she found the man of her dreams, and they married and settled in Kingsville, where they both devoted their lives to opposing old stereotypes and combating injustices. They were faced with discrimination in a segregated community, and they did not accept it. They had three daughters who they taught to fight injustices and stand up for the poor and oppressed. They never accepted that "women" were not equal to men. Mr. Rangel was a hardworking man who, during his life, worked in farming, ranching, construction, and business. He became a merchant, owning an appliance store, a furniture store, a plumbing service, two barbershops, and a bar. He also helped his wife build a successful dress shop located just off the main street of Kingsville and not restricted to the "Mexican" side of town. The three sisters grew up working alongside their parents. Irma would later recall how, each week, the parents would load their car with clothing from the dress shop and travel to small communities to sell their goods. One of the girls was always taken along to earn her spending money by selling candies. In 1947, when Irma 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. The neighbors feared allowing this family in their area because Mr. Rangel was active in an organization called "The Good Government League." This group of progressive citizens from all ethnic and racial groups was campaigning for equality in city government. It had been able to muster enough support from both "Anglos" and Mexican Americans to elect the first minority members to the school board and the city council. Ultimately, an important and influential "Anglo" intervened on their behalf, and the family was allowed to design and build the Spanish colonial-style house that Irma called home until her dying day. Irma and her sisters grew up in Kingsville, attending the "Mexican Ward" School for the elementary grades and the town's only integrated high school. One of the three sisters went on to the University of Texas in Austin, but Irma and her oldest sister decided to attend Texas College of Arts & Industries. After graduating with degrees in education, Irma began teaching in the neighboring community of Robstown, Texas. Then she and her oldest sister, Olga, decided to become teachers in an overseas program in Venezuela. Years later, Irma would talk fondly about the Latin American experience. When she returned from Venezuela, she took a teaching job in California, where her landlady profoundly influenced her life. Years later, people would always comment about her unusual language accent. Her "loud and forceful voice" included an accent that made her sound as if she had grown up in the northeastern section of the country. She commented to one of her administrative assistants that she had acquired her accent from this landlady. While working as a teacher and administrator in education, Irma decided to return to Texas and attend St. Mary's University Law School. After law school, Rangel became one of the first Hispanic female law clerks for a Federal District Judge. After her clerkship with 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 then returned to her hometown of Kingsville, where she opened her law practice and was the only Hispanic woman attorney in the city. Her partner and friend, Hector Garcia, would greatly influence her political activities. In 1974, Irma 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 State 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 first and only Hispanic woman in the State Legislature. 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 of Representatives issued the following news release: "Irma Rangel was always extremely proud of her service on this caucus and talked about her time as this Caucus' chair as one of the milestones of her political career." It is fitting that the news release so correctly mentioned the highlights of her career as she would have expressed them. First elected in 1976, Representative Rangel served her South Texas district for 26 years. As the first female Mexican American legislator and the first and only woman to serve as Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, she paved the way for others to follow. A champion of minority and student issues in Texas, Representative Rangel fought for her constituents, leaving her mark on the history of this great state. During her first legislative session, Representative Rangel passed legislation creating educational and training opportunities for single mothers in need of better-paying jobs. In 1993, she secured $460 million for South Texas with the South Texas Border Initiative. In the last legislative session, Representative Rangel passed a bill creating South Texas's first professional school—the pharmacy school at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. In 1995, House Speaker James E. "Pete" Laney appointed Representative Rangel Chair of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education. As the first Mexican American to head the committee, Representative Rangel led the charge to ensure educational opportunities for all children. Representative 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, Representative Rangel pioneered landmark legislation in 1997 that is now receiving national attention. The passage of House Bill 588 requires state colleges and universities to automatically admit all students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class. "She understood that the way people break out of cycles of poverty is through education, and she fought tirelessly, right up until her death, to make the dream of a college degree the reality for thousands upon thousands of students," [according to] Representative Pete Gallego. Representative Rangel received numerous awards for her public service. In 1994, Representative Irma Rangel was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. GEMS television named her Woman of the Year in 1997. In 1998, Representative Rangel became the first Mexican American to receive the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal from the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities. Representative Pete Gallego concluded: "Her life is a testament to everything that is good about public service. I called her a little angel because that's what she was: our little angel. I hope she is resting peacefully. Our loss is Heaven's gain." In 1993 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 Representative Irma Rangel and Representative Paul C. Moreno, El Paso, Dean of the Texas House, the program provides undergraduate and graduate students from across Texas an opportunity to gain first-hand governmental experience working in the Texas House of Representatives during the Legislative Session. The members of MALC are honored to have been touched by the life of Representative Irma Rangel. It is fitting that a program to further the education of young Texans will always bear her name.
The collection consists mainly of legislative papers created while Irma Rangel served in the Texas State Legislature for almost 26 years and papers left in her law office in Kingsville, TX. Also included is memorabilia left in her Austin office including plaques, awards, certificates, constituent’s gifts and other keepsakes accumulated as she traveled. Over one thousand photographs, ninety video cassettes, forty-seven audio cassettes, twenty CDs of word documents, and eleven CDs of legislative council information are included besides thousands of state documents.
The collection consists of three series: Series I: Legislative Papers Sub Series A: Achievements (See also Memorabilia) Sub Series B: Articles/ Press / News Releases Sub Series C: Correspondence Sub Series 1: Constituent & Non-Constituent Letters (See also District) Sub Series 2: Mail In/Out – Correspondence Sub Series 3: Memorandum Sub Series 4: Recommendation Letters Sub Series D: Administration Sub Series 1: Speeches/Trips Sub Series E: Legislatures Sub Series F: State Agencies & Organizations Sub Series 1: Special Agencies/Interest Groups Sub Series 2: Texas Department of Correction/ Criminal Justice Sub Series 3: Texas Department of Education Sub Series 4: Texas Department of Environment Sub Series 5: Texas Department of Health/ Human Resources Sub Series 6: Texas Department of Transportation Sub Series G: Topics & Issues Sub Series 1: Districts/Redistricting Sub Series 2: General Topics & Issues Sub Series H: Media Sub Series 1: Video Cassettes Sub Series 2: Audio Cassettes Sub Series 3: Disk Sub Series 4: Rangel CD’s Sub Series I: Memorabilia Sub Series 1: Photos Series II: Political/Professional Papers Sub Series A: Campaign Material Sub Series B: Administration Sub Series C: Legal Sub Series D: Media Sub Series E: Memorabilia Sub Series 1: Photos Series III: Personal Papers
South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Open for Research
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Irma Lerma Rangel Collection, A1989-039.XXXX, South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
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A1989-039 – Gift of Irma Rangel A1999-055 – Gift of Irma Rangel A2003-042 – Gift of Irma Rangel
A1989-039 was processed by Toni L. Nagel in 1989 A1999-055 has no identified processer A2003-042 was processed by Cecilia Hunter in 2003 Original finding aid and inventory was created by Cecilia Hunter in 1993. Lori Atkins updated finding aid in 2017, EAD document created by Daniel Thacker in 2017. Bailey Smith and Carmen Martinez indexed the collection and digitized the photographs in 2022.