Black History Month Spotlight Alice Allison Dunnigan Alice Allison Dunnigan (1906–1983) who was an African American journalist. She was born on April 27, 1906 near Russellville, Kentucky. At 13 years old, Ms. Dunnigan began writing for the Owensboro Enterprise. This is how she fulfilled her dream of experience the world as a newspaper reporter. She completed her teaching course at Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute and then when on to teach at Kentucky History in the Todd County School System (which was segregated at the time). When Alice noticed that her class was not conscious about African American contributions to the Commonwealth, she prepared Kentucky Fact Sheets as supplements to required text. They were later collected and formed into a manuscript in 1939, but finally published in 1982 titled The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians: Their Heritage and Tradition. Here are some of her accomplishments: • 1947 to 1961- served as chief of the Washington bureau of the Associated Negro Press • 1947 - member of the Senate and House of Representatives press galleries • 1948 - appointed a White House correspondent • 1961- named education consultant to the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity 1967 to 1970 – an associate editor with the President's Commission on Youth Opportunity An interesting fact: After tumultuous years at the White House, Dunnigan returned to writing, and penned her autobiography, A Black Woman's Experience: From Schoolhouse to White House (published in 1974). The book is an exploration of Dunnigan's life from her childhood in rural Kentucky to her ground-breaking work both covering the White House and being on the inside of it. inside it. A new interpreted edition of her 1974 autobiography was released in February 2015, titled Alone atop of the Hill: The Autobiography of Alice Dunnigan, Pioneer of the National Black Press. Despite her extensive work in government and politics, she was particularly proud of her work in journalism, and received over 50 awards for journalism. She died of ischemic bowel disease on May 6, 1983, in Washington, D.C. Two years after her death in 1985, she was inducted into the Black Journalist Hall of Fame. We at Blaize Dance & Fitness Magazine salute your contribution to the world of journalism and applaud your tenacity in the horrific days of segregation. Source: Majority of information derived from Wikipedia. Images from Google Photos. Edits done by BDFM Editing Team.
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