24, 1936, and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery near Chicago. Legacy Wilkins was the first Black deaf person to serve on the Executive Committee of the National Association of the Deaf. This was unusual as Black people were not permitted to be NAD members until 1965. The newspaper The Silent Worker ran a feature article on Wilkins in 1926, saying "[...] thanks to the excellent educational advantages, under able instructors, which she enjoyed at Faribault, she became the most accomplished deaf lady of her race in America." In 2018 a newly built student dormitory at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf was named Wilkins Hall in her honor. References External links "Trailblazing Deaf Black Woman Ancestor: Blanche Wilkins" 12-minute video in ASL with English captions (2019) 1876 births 1936 deaths Educators of the deaf American women educators African-American educators People from La Crosse, Wisconsin American deaf people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women