Anita Lee Blair & guide dog Fawn, El Paso, TX

Anita Blair was a state representative and community activist, who died in 2010 with 93 years of age. Blair became the first El Paso woman elected as a state representative, in 1952. She was also the first blind woman to serve in an elected position in the state of Texas. During her term in office, Blair found money to remodel the State School for the Deaf. She also fought for teacher pay raises and supported a bill that allowed women to serve on juries. In her later years, Blair became a pioneer for the disabled and was active in the community. Due to an accident Blair lost her sight with 19, but with her guide dog Fawn, she adjusted quickly to the darkness. Blair attended the University of Texas at El Paso, then known as the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy. She graduated in 1944 with a master's degree in social sciences. The portrait was taken by Samuel Fant, it probably dates from the 1940s. Anita Blair is buried in Texas State Cemetery.

Area: Central / Downtown

Collection: Samuel Fant Collection

Source: University of Texas at El Paso Library - Special Collections Department

Reference ID: PH058-Blair, Anita 02

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

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26 March 2020 by Eva

March is Women's History Month.

28 September 2019 by LEE

cool photo, cooler lady!

26 December 2017 by Eva

According to commemorative calendar from C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Dept. UTEP Library--Anita Blair (1916-2010) became the first El Pasoan to have a service animal in 1940. With Fawn's help, Blair escaped a fire at the La Salle Hotel in Chicago. A safety and accident prevention activist, Anita Blair was the first blind woman elected to a state legislature in the United States.

25 February 2016 by judy

proud woman:

08 June 2015 by sedona

this is awesome