Inez Beverly Prosser: First Black Psychologist
By Key Kessens
FWIS Contributing Writer
Inez Beverly Prosser was born in 1897 in Yoakum, TX to a family of 11 children. From a young age, she became passionate about learning and education with extraordinary reading skills. Prosser believed that education had the power to change people’s lives, and she proved herself right. During her short lifetime, she educated herself & others, becoming the first African American female psychologist with a master’s degree in Educational Psychology.
Unfortunately, Dr. Prosser’s life ended in September 1934 in a car accident on her way back to Mississippi near Shreveport, LA at the age of 38. Prosser’s family held her funeral in San Antonio, TX. Despite her short life, Dr. Prosser contributed significantly to the mental health aspects of African Americans’ education and development.
Dr. Prosser began her college journey with her brother Leon. Together, they convinced their family to send her to college. Their investment led Dr. Prosser to contribute funding and advice to help five of her siblings graduate from college. The first university she attended was Prairie View A&M University, an HBCU northwest of Houston, TX. There, she earned her two year certificate in 1913 to begin teaching in Austin, TX at a black elementary school, then a high school. Next, she continued her education at Samuel Huston College in Austin, TX in 1926 to receive her bachelor's degree.
Dr. Prosser’s teaching journey did not end in Austin, TX. She spent the last 7 years of her life teaching in black colleges around the country. One of her most known schools Prosser taught at is Tillotson College (also in Austin, TX). She then taught at Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS.
Due to segregation in schools, Dr. Prosser had to attend the University of Colorado to achieve her master’s degree. Then, she had to complete her doctorate degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Cincinnati in 1933. Which crowned Dr. Prosser as the first black, female psychologist. Thankfully, I found a portion of her dissertation that led to her completion of her PhD. Dr. Inez Beverly Prosser’s research of black youth’s mental health helped improve our education and development.
Impact
Dr. Prosser’s impactful expedition began with her fellowship application to the University of Cincinnati. In this application, “she noted that she wanted to contribute to research that would improve teacher training and, subsequently, the quality of education in elementary and high schools,” (Austin). This research conducted in her dissertation, led to her achieving her master’s degree in Educational Psych.
In addition, her studies provided the much needed research about segregation’s effect on the educational and social-emotional development of black students. Dr. Prosser explored the influence of racial prejudice on children and weighed the risks of the higher quality education in integrated vs. segregated schools. This topic was severely overlooked, so she highlighted the impact of the school’s environments on the mental health and acclimatization of African American children. Dr. Prosser’s research also provided necessary insights for the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954.
Challenges and Solutions
Of course, Dr. Prosser faced many challenges during her educational journey. For instance, she had firsthand experiences with segregated schools. Prosser had to move from Texas to Colorado, and then to Ohio to fully complete her studies. In each place she faced discrimination.
While she pursued her graduate education at the University of Colorado, she experienced poor treatment due to salary disparity and unequal resource allocation for herself and her students (Austin). Unluckily for her, the discrimination did not stop there. At the University of Cincinnati, she faced prejudice and hardship. Dr. Prosser persevered through her difficulties because she earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees at these institutions.
Dr. Prosser also had adversities in her dissertation research. There were multiple limitations that she had to overcome (some of these restrictions were noted by other researchers, not just her). These included:
• Generalization of detailed analysis of interests, attitudes, emotions, etc.
• Feelings are changeable, unstable, and differ among individuals.
• The interest inventories were limited to topics that are disliked and liked (biases could be present).
• The small control group didn’t indicate the character and personality tests’ reliability.
• The test scores were not 100% honest because of students not wanting to tell hard truths.
Sure enough, Prosser prevailed over those challenges because of these reasons:
• The questionnaires were concerned with characteristics in psychoneurotic adjustments, ascendancy-submission, introversion-extroversion, inferiority complex, fair mindedness and studiousness which were all qualities that would heavily influence the black student’s personalities in both mixed and segregated schools.
• She used multiple forms of experimentation, such as standardized questionnaires, interest inventories, and psychological interviews to measure her research.
• Dr. Prosser also carefully analyzed wishes, feeling tones, occupational preferences, and more.
• She highlighted the different connotations and purposes of “segregation” in mandatory and voluntary segregated schools as well.
She concluded that the voluntary segregated schools were more equipped to handle the social-emotional and educational development of African American students, despite the lower quality of education because there were less risks of the children being discriminated against.
Innovation and Collaboration
Dr. Prosser’s dissertation provided the means to advance the growth and mental wellbeing of black youth. In her dissertation, she gave acknowledgement to all of those who contributed. The contributors to her dissertation are:
• Dean L. A. Pechstein, Chairman, Dr. Gordon Hendrickson, Dr. Spencer Shank, Dr. Mary Roberts Crowley, facility in Cinci, OH schools: Washburn, Dyer, Sixth District, Twelfth District, Douglass, Stowe, Jackson, Sherman, Douglass Colony, Bloom, Woodward, North Fairmont, Boys’ Special, Walnut Hills High School, and Avondale, General Education Board, American Missionary Association, & students who participated in the study.
These people helped Dr. Prosser bring more attention to the overlooked influence of segregation on these students’ mental health and development (in and outside the classroom).
Her role as the dean at Tillotson College (a black women’s college) allowed her to dedicate her education to African American students, grow the university, and help her partner with other African American leaders to increase the amount of opportunities available to hopeful college students. Not only that, Dr. Prosser assisted African American students in funding for college and graduate school.
Her dissertation also was supported by prominent African American figures in the Civil Rights Movement, such as Carter Woodson and W.E.B. DuBois. These people believed that segregation was necessary for black students because white teachers had prejudicial attitudes in integrated schools that negatively impacted their development & mental health. The negative impacts consist of:
• Black students experienced more social maladjustment.
• Black students felt less secure in social relations.
• Black students had less satisfactory relationships with family & teachers.
• Black students were more likely to feel inferior at school.
• Black students were more eager to leave school early.
Dr. Prosser’s dissertation heavily supported the negative influence of segregation on black students’ mental health and adjustment viewpoint, which helped develop the Supreme Court’s decision to end segregation in schools during the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.
Future Directions
Dr. Prosser’s research of black youth’s mental health and development deliberately influenced the future direction of African American students’ education. The dissertation pointed out the negative impact on segregation and how unnoticed this topic was during the 19th-20th century.
Her research provided a stepping stone for equity and inclusivity in educational spaces because black students needed to be able to experience individuality to be able to fully develop (mentally, emotionally, and socially) as citizens of the United States.
Dr. Prosser thoroughly advocated for the education of women and African American students with her PhD in Educational Psychology. She made advancements as the first black, female psychologist, brought immense changes to the way the education system treated African American students, and helped develop black youth socially, emotionally, and mentally. May Dr. Prosser rest in peace and be remembered for her contributions to the black mental health and education field.