"Blanche Mcsmith"(1920-2006)

Born Blanche Louise Preston.She graduated from Wiley College in 1941 and eventually earned a Master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California in 1944.Blanche married Los Angeles businessman William Mcsmith and the pair owned a a local electronics business and real estate firm.In 1949,She and William moved to Kodiak,Alaska Territory and the following year,settled in Anchorage, the Territory's largest city.Blanche played a major role in organizing the Anchorage branch of the NAACP in 1951.Under her leadership as branch president,the Anchorage NAACP in  1959 pushed for comprehensive civil rights bill when Alaska was admitted the Union as the 49th state.The new Alaska State Legislature,failed to support the bill.In that same year,Governor William A. Egan appointed Blanche to fill a vacancy for the 10th District,Alaska House of Representative when Representative John Radar was appointed Attorney General.Her service in the Alaska legislature gave her distinction of being the first Africa American to serve in that body.She worked tirelessly both in and outside the legislature to end housing and employment discrimination in Alaska.Her efforts culminated in the adoption of a fair housing ordinance by the Anchorage City council in 1967.Employment discrimination proved equally troublesome for black Alaskans,and Blanche worked the local NAACP to obtain employment opportunities for African Americans in both the public and private sectors.In 1972 she moved to Juneau,where she became the Director in the Office of the Governor for the Public Employment Program,a position she held until she retired in the early 1980s.Blanche died in Anchorage.