Irma rangel biography video waltham

In , she returned to the U. She eventually decided to become a lawyer and attended St. Mary's Law School in San Antonio. After law school, she accepted a job as assistant district attorney in Corpus Christi, insisting that she be paid the same as her male counterparts. Rangel opened her own law office in Kingsville and became interested in local politics.

She won the race for Democratic county chairperson, then decided to run for the Texas Legislature after encouragement from people involved in the Texas Women's Political Caucus and the causes of Mexican American women. For the next 20 years, Irma Rangel made the concerns of women, children, and the poor the focus of her work in the Texas House of Representatives.

Graduate of Irma Rangel

She passed legislation providing educational and employment programs to help mothers on welfare find a way to support themselves, creating centers for victims of domestic abuse, helping business people donate food to the poor, extending the absentee voting system, and improving education. In , she was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame.

The first Tejana elected to the Texas House of Representatives, Irma Rangel was born in Kingsville in to field workers who emphasized the importance of social justice and education, thereby influencing her lifelong commitment to public service. After becoming a lawyer, she was assistant district attorney in Corpus Christi, insisting on equal pay before she took the job.

She then opened her own law practice, got involved in local politics, and became chair of the Kleberg County Democratic Party. She defeated an opponent supported by the powerful King Ranch and served in the House for over 25 years. Rangel is best known for her landmark bill transforming Texas higher education by guaranteeing college admission to high school students in the top 10 percent of their graduating classes.

Irma Rangel died of cancer in Austin: University of Texas Press,