Anita Lee Blair (September 8, 1916 – August 25, 2010) was an American politician and activist from Texas. She was the first blind woman elected to any state legislature in the United States.

Early life and education

Anita Lee Blair was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, and raised in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

. She graduated from Austin High School in that city, in 1933. She became blind after a car accident at age 19, in

Alamogordo, New Mexico Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population ...

. She earned a B. A. at Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy in 1944, and later completed a master's degree from Texas Women's College, in 1951.

Career

In 1940, Blair became the first person in El Paso to have a

service dog In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a prof ...

, a

German shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for ...

named Fawn. The pair became famous beyond Texas while lecturing on traffic safety and accident prevention. In 1946, Blair and Fawn escaped the fatal

La Salle Hotel The La Salle Hotel was a historic hotel that was located on the northwest corner of La Salle Street and Madison Street in the Chicago Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was situated to the southwest of Chicago City Ha ...

fire in Chicago; their story highlighted the function of service dogs and was covered in newspapers across the country, and on local television stations in Chicago. In 1950, Blair successfully protested when Fawn was not allowed into the United States Senate gallery with her to attend a debate. Blair was elected to the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

in 1952, and served one term. As a state representative, she worked for a pay increase for teachers, for the renovation of the state school for the deaf, and for the right of women to serve on juries. She also co-authored a bill requiring jail sentences for drunk drivers. She lost her bid for re-election in 1954, and in three subsequent elections. In her later years, Blair was a fixture on local

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

in El Paso, and at age 86 ran unsuccessfully for county judge. In 2009, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement BRAVO Award from the League of Women Voters of El Paso.

Personal life and legacy

Blair married Curtis Reynolds Chartier in 1959, in

. Blair died in 2010, at age 93. In recognition of her service as a state legislator, her remains were buried in the

Texas State Cemetery The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and vice-president of the Republic of ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

.Anita Lee Blair, Texas State Cemetery.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Anita Lee 1916 births 2010 deaths American politicians with disabilities Blind politicians Burials at Texas State Cemetery Members of the Texas House of Representatives People from El Paso, Texas Politicians from Oklahoma City Texas Woman's University alumni University of Texas at El Paso people Women state legislators in Texas 21st-century American women