Irma Rangel (Texas politician)
Encyclopedia
Irma Lerma Rangel was an attorney
and state legislator in South Texas
. Her office was based in Kingsville, Texas
.
ed 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 that she was not able to receive an education past third grade. Like her father, Rangel 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 stereotype
s and combating injustices. They were faced with discrimination
in a segregated community
, but refused to accept it. They had three daughters whom they taught to fight injustice and stand up for the poor and oppressed, and they never accepted that women were not equal to men.
Mr. Rangel was a hard-working man who worked in farming, ranching, construction and business. He became a merchant
, owning an appliance
store, a furniture store, a plumbing service, two barber
shops and a bar. He helped his wife build a successful dress shop located just off the main street of Kingsville, 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 Rangel 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 and had been able to muster enough support from both Anglos and Mexican American
s 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 across from the college campus that Rangel called home until her dying day.
Rangel 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 Rangel and her oldest sister decided to attend Texas College of Arts and Industries
. After graduating with degrees
in education, Rangel 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 Rangel would talk fondly about the Latin America
n experience. When she returned from Venezuela she took a teaching job in California
, where her landlady had a profound influence on her life.
People frequently would comment about Rangel's unusual 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.
Jeremy Brown
, a reporter for the Corpus Christi Caller Times, also related in an article he wrote near the end of Rangel's life: "To those who know her, Rangel has an unmistakable voice. She enunciates her words syllable-by-syllable
, with the precision of an experienced orator. Her pitch rises and falls, rhythmically, as if she invests a steady but hefty dose of emotion into every sentence. Then there is that accent, which some have said sounds British, or at least European
, but which Rangel says might come from speaking Spanish
with an English
syntax when she was a little girl, in a childish attempt to sound like she actually knew English."
Although the source of her unusual voice might be a mystery, there was never any mystery about what Representative Rangel believed was right. Her hefty voice matched her strong will and she worked tirelessly for the issues she championed.
This determination to be of service to society and fight for good causes might have been the reason Rangel decided to return to Texas and attend St. Mary's University Law School. After law school, Rangel went on to become 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 own 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, Rangel 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 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 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 a news release, which very aptly summarized her legislative career. Irma Rangel was always extremely proud of her service on this caucus
, and talked about her time as the chair of the caucus 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. The news item reports:
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
’ first professional school — Texas A&M Health Science Center - Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy
.
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," said 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 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 2003, 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 Rangel and Representative Paul C. Moreno of 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. Representative Irma Rangel touched the lives of the members of MALC. It is fitting that a program to further the education of young Texans will always bear her name."
Representative Rangel's legislative collection is stored at the South Texas Archives and Special Collections
at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Cecilia Aros Hunter, Professor
and University Archivist
, was a personal family friend for over thirty years.
, Texas
. Also included are memorabilia left in her Austin
office including plaques, awards, certificates, constituents
' gifts and other keepsakes accumulated as she traveled. Other personal materials from her home are still being accumulated.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and state legislator in South Texas
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
. Her office was based in Kingsville, Texas
Kingsville, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,575 people, 8,943 households, and 6,134 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,848.8 people per square mile . There were 10,427 housing units at an average density of 753.8 per square mile...
.
Biography
Rangel was born on May 15, 1931 She was the youngest of three daughters. Her father, Presciliano Martinez Rangel, from Duval County, was orphanOrphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed 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
Starr County, Texas
Starr County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 60,968. Its county seat is Rio Grande City. The county is named for James Harper Starr, who served as Secretary of the Treasury of the Republic of Texas. It is part of the Rio Grande City-Roma, TX,...
and they worked in the fields so that she was not able to receive an education past third grade. Like her father, Rangel 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 stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s and combating injustices. They were faced with discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
in a segregated community
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
, but refused to accept it. They had three daughters whom they taught to fight injustice and stand up for the poor and oppressed, and they never accepted that women were not equal to men.
Mr. Rangel was a hard-working man who worked in farming, ranching, construction and business. He became a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
, owning an appliance
Home appliance
Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods...
store, a furniture store, a plumbing service, two barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
shops and a bar. He helped his wife build a successful dress shop located just off the main street of Kingsville, not restricted to the "Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
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 Rangel was a teenager, her parents were able to buy some land near Texas College of Arts and Industries
Texas A&M University–Kingsville
Texas A&M University–Kingsville is a U.S. national university with a multicultural student body that is 62 percent Hispanic and includes students from 35 states and 43 foreign countries...
and hoped to build a home. But the land was in the "Anglo-white" district and the neighbors organized against allowing a "Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
" 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
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
citizens, from all ethnic and racial groups, was campaigning for equality in city government and had been able to muster enough support from both Anglos and Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
s to elect the first minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
members to the school board and the city council. Ultimately, an important and influential Anglo
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...
intervened on their behalf and the family was allowed to design and build the Spanish Colonial style house across from the college campus that Rangel called home until her dying day.
Rangel and her sisters grew up in Kingsville, attending the Mexican Ward School for the elementary
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
grades, and the town's only integrated high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. One of the three sisters went on to the University of Texas in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, but Rangel and her oldest sister decided to attend Texas College of Arts and Industries
Texas A&M University–Kingsville
Texas A&M University–Kingsville is a U.S. national university with a multicultural student body that is 62 percent Hispanic and includes students from 35 states and 43 foreign countries...
. After graduating with degrees
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in education, Rangel began teaching in the neighboring community of Robstown, Texas
Robstown, Texas
Robstown is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Corpus Christi. It was founded about 1906, and was named for Robert Driscoll Jr., a landowner...
. Then she and her oldest sister, Olga, decided to become teachers in an overseas program in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Years later Rangel would talk fondly about the Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n experience. When she returned from Venezuela she took a teaching job in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where her landlady had a profound influence on her life.
People frequently would comment about Rangel's unusual accent. Her "loud and forceful voice" included an accent that made her sound as if she had grown up in the northeastern
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
section of the country. She commented to one of her administrative assistants that she had acquired her accent from this landlady.
Jeremy Brown
Jeremy Brown
Jeremy Van Brown is an American former professional baseball catcher with the Oakland Athletics. He is primarily known for his place in Michael Lewis' 2003 #1 bestseller Moneyball.-Career:...
, a reporter for the Corpus Christi Caller Times, also related in an article he wrote near the end of Rangel's life: "To those who know her, Rangel has an unmistakable voice. She enunciates her words syllable-by-syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
, with the precision of an experienced orator. Her pitch rises and falls, rhythmically, as if she invests a steady but hefty dose of emotion into every sentence. Then there is that accent, which some have said sounds British, or at least European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
, but which Rangel says might come from speaking Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
with an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
syntax when she was a little girl, in a childish attempt to sound like she actually knew English."
Although the source of her unusual voice might be a mystery, there was never any mystery about what Representative Rangel believed was right. Her hefty voice matched her strong will and she worked tirelessly for the issues she championed.
This determination to be of service to society and fight for good causes might have been the reason Rangel decided to return to Texas and attend St. Mary's University Law School. After law school, Rangel went on to become one of the first Hispanic female law clerks for a Federal District Judge. After her clerkship
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
with Judge Adrian Spears she became one of the first Hispanic women assistant district attorneys in Texas by working in the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office in Nueces County. She then returned to her hometown of Kingsville, where she opened her own law practice and was the only Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
woman attorney in the city. Her partner and friend, Hector Garcia
Héctor García
Héctor García may refer to:*Héctor García - basketball player*Héctor García-Molina - Mexican computer scientist*Hector P. Garcia - Mexican-American physician*Héctor García Ribeyro - Peruvian politician...
, would greatly influence her political activities.
In 1974, Rangel 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 House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
. She gathered her girlhood friends, family, and a few newcomers to Kingsville and worked hard to win the seat that would make her the only Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
woman in the State Legislature
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
.
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
Mexican American Legislative Caucus
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is a 501 non-profit, non-partisan organization composed of members of the Texas House of Representatives committed to addressing issues of particular importance to Latinos across the state.-History:...
of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
issued a news release, which very aptly summarized her legislative career. Irma Rangel was always extremely proud of her service on this caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
, and talked about her time as the chair of the caucus 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. The news item reports:
"First elected in 1976, Representative Rangel served her South Texas district for 26 years. As the first female Mexican American legislator and 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
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
’ first professional school — Texas A&M Health Science Center - Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
.
In 1995, House Speaker James E. "Pete" Laney
Pete Laney
James E. "Pete" Laney is a U.S. Democratic Party politician from West Texas. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for 34 years from Hale Center . Laney served as Speaker for ten years from 1993 to 2003, a record matching that set by his predecessor, fellow Democrat Gibson D...
appointed Representative Rangel Chair of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education. As the first Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
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
Hopwood v. Texas
Hopwood v. Texas, 78 F.3d 932 , was the first successful legal challenge to a university's affirmative action policy in student admissions since Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265...
decision, which ended affirmative action at all state colleges and universities, Representative Rangel pioneered landmark legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
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," said Representative
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
Pete Gallego
Pete Gallego
Pete P. Gallego is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 74th District since his election in 1990.He serves as on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials and is a former Chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus...
.
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
Gems TV
Gems TV was a jewellery manufacturer and reverse auction TV shopping network headquartered in Chanthaburi, Thailand. It began its operations in October 2004 in the UK, and then expanded to Germany, America, Japan and China...
named her Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year is a romantic comedy film. The movie is about an emancipated woman, chosen "Woman of the Year", and her colleague-turned-husband and their efforts to negotiate a path to marital bliss....
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 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 2003, 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 Rangel and Representative Paul C. Moreno of El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Dean of the Texas House, the program provides undergraduate and graduate students from across Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
an opportunity to gain first-hand governmental experience working in the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
during the legislative session. Representative Irma Rangel touched the lives of the members of MALC. It is fitting that a program to further the education of young Texans will always bear her name."
Representative Rangel's legislative collection is stored at the South Texas Archives and Special Collections
South Texas Archives and Special Collections
The South Texas Archives and Special Collections, a division of the James C. Jernigan Library of Texas A&M University–Kingsville, was established to preserve and to make available to the public documentary materials about the history and natural history of South Texas. The Archives are housed in...
at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Cecilia Aros Hunter, Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and University Archivist
Archivist
An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
, was a personal family friend for over thirty years.
Scope and contents of the collection
The collection consists mainly of legislative papers created while Rangel served in the Texas State Legislature for almost twenty-six years and papers left in her law office in KingsvilleKingsville, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,575 people, 8,943 households, and 6,134 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,848.8 people per square mile . There were 10,427 housing units at an average density of 753.8 per square mile...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Also included are memorabilia left in her Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
office including plaques, awards, certificates, constituents
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
' gifts and other keepsakes accumulated as she traveled. Other personal materials from her home are still being accumulated.