Mamie Proctor ’68 achieved many firsts in her lifetime. She was the first Black individual to enroll and graduate from South Texas College of Law Houston, turning a successful career as a law librarian into a successful career as an attorney and political activist.
Born in the Jim Crow South in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1930, Proctor left home to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. — prestigious, historically Black institution of higher education. Returning home to Vicksburg in 1953 with a bachelor’s degree in music history, she taught elementary school.
Four years later, Proctor moved to Houston and in 1958 became part of the library staff at Texas Southern University (TSU), managing the circulation department. Ultimately, she became the director of library services at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at TSU.
In 1966 she earned a master’s degree in library science from Catholic University of America. She soon became the first Black person to become a certified law librarian by the American Association of Law Libraries.
Next, as a widow raising three small children and continuing to work full time at the law library, Proctor enrolled in classes at South Texas Law. She met the challenges inherent in this set of experiences with determination, graduating in 1968 with her Juris Doctorate.
Leaving the confines of the library, Proctor started a solo legal practice, specializing in family law, real estate law, and probate law. She became actively involved with the Texas Republican party in the 1980s, serving as a delegate to the Republican convention of the 7th Senatorial District and becoming a member of the state executive committee from District 13. In 1985, she was elected to a four-year term as president of the Black Republican Women’s Club of Texas.
In 1986, she was a candidate for the 245th family District Court. Although her campaign was unsuccessful, Proctor’s credentials caught the attention of then-Governor Bill Clements. She served on the Governor’s Blue-Ribbon Commission for the Comprehensive Review of the Criminal Justice Corrections System and the Governor’s Task Force for Equal Opportunities for Women and Minorities.
In 1989, Clements appointed her to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice to help create prison, parole, and probation policy. Still wanting to serve on the bench, she ran for a seat on the First District Court of Appeals in 1994. She did not win the election but continued her work as an attorney and political activist for the Republican party.
Proctor died in October 2010, at the age of 80. She remained in Houston until that time, and her legacy in Houston’s legal and political community is impressive. For STCL Houston, Proctor represented a major step toward diversity that continues today as a fundamental part of the law school’s mission.
