Despite prior claims that have been made stating that Prosser was born to Samuel Andrew and Veola Hamilton Beverly in Yoakum, Texas on December 30, 1897, both the location and year of Inez's birth are not completely clear.

Throughout her time at Anderson, she taught English and coached for the spelling competitions of the Interscholastic League, an organization that sponsored events for Black high school students in athletic and academic contests throughout the state.

Prosser began this work in the summer of 1924, taking four undergraduate courses (two in English, one in Abnormal Psychology, and a Physical Education class) to make up for what Colorado thought she lacked in her record at Samuel Huston College.

All tests covered the same subject areas and difficulty levels as well as comparable numbers of factual and reasoning questions.

[1] This unpublished thesis did not change the course of grammar assessment, but it motivated Prosser to further her education and appeared to ignite her interests in psychology.

Her career took an important turn when she applied for and was awarded aid from the General Education Board (established by John D. Rockefeller in 1902).

[2] Although racial discrimination was rampant, Prosser continued to accept minimal wages for work that rivaled or exceeded that of her white colleagues.

I am glad to give her my special commendation for it is never an easy task for a member of her race to pursue successfully the arduous course attending se- curing the doctorate degree.

[1] Prosser's interest in the topic "grew out of a desire to determine objectively, so far as possible, the degree of truth in the often repeated statement that the Negro child develops superior character traits, more racial self-respect, and a greater concomitants of a well-rounded education when he is placed under the direction of Negro teachers during his formative years".

The purpose was: (1) to measure vocational interests, leisure interests, social participation, emotional or neurotic tendencies, social distance, ascendancy-submission, overstatement, introversion-extraversion, and general personality adjustment…, (2) to ascertain the difference, if any, that exists in these traits, and (3) to determine whether one of the other of these schools is better fostering growth in personality in so far as it can be determined by the available techniques.

Prosser believed that mixed school caused irreversible damage to Black children's mental health and that was the true risk behind that kind of environment.

[1] Prosser wanted to examine the difference in personality and mental health between black students in "mixed and in segregated schools".

In her dissertation, Prosser argues that racial injustices and feelings of isolation have damaging effects on the psyche of Black children.

[7] She believed that most Black students receive a more balanced curriculum, affection, support, and family-school consistency in segregated schools.

She also noted that segregated schools not only provided job opportunities, but also "a more nurturing environment" for Black teachers as well as students.

In 2010, the International's Encyclopedia of Education published an article highlighting the myriad of positive benefits Black students receive in these segregated institutions.

[1] They supported these institutions as "safe spaces" for black students to fortify their sense of self amidst the marginalization they face.

[7] Although Prosser planned to include a diverse range of tests and inventories to assess personality, the sample size of her study was small, with only 32 pairs of matched students.

This lead some conclusions likely being a resulting of sampling error which Prosser admitted, and believed the differences were minimal but justified them nonetheless.

The Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal doctrine" was the reasoning for segregation in 17 states, a majority of which were in the South and the District of Columbia.

Prosser understood that segregated schools provided Black children with a more comfortable environment where they would not have to worry about mistreatment and discrimination from White counterparts.

While Prosser is frequently referred to as the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in Psychology, others believe that Ruth Winifred Howard (1900–1997) was the first.

[10] Prosser posed a powerful argument regarding the effects of racial inequality on the mental health of African-American children.

[8] Though the topic was highly debated, The Association of Afro-American Educators displayed continued support for segregated schools in decades to come.

Like Prosser, they concur that if resources are properly allocated, the benefits of segregated schools are tremendous to the black child psyche.

[1] After finishing the Jackson summer school program, On August 28, Prosser, her husband, and her sister Katharine Beverly were coming back to Mississippi after visiting family in Texas when they were involved in a head-on collision near Shreveport, Louisiana.

[13] Prosser was brought to San Antonio, Texas, which is where her parents resided, for a burial and funeral service on September 8, 1934.