Maria Anita Carmona Harrison was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. She grew up in the city’s Guadalupe neighborhood, and she attended an all “Mexican” school before entering integrated schools in Lubbock. After graduating from Lubbock High School, Carmona Harrison earned a degree in elementary education from Texas Tech University —becoming the first Chicana educated entirely in Lubbock public schools to graduate from the university. She taught in several Lubbock schools.