Alice (Allison) Dunnigan (1906 - 1983)

Born 27 Apr 1906 in Russellville, Logan, Kentucky, United States

Ancestors

Died 6 May 1983 at age 77 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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Biography

Alice (Allison) Dunnigan is Notable.

Alice Dunnigan was a journalist, civil rights activist and author. She was the first African-American female correspondent to receive White House credentials, and the first black female member of the Senate and House of Representatives press galleries.

Early Life

Alice Allison was born on 27 April 1906 near Russellville, Kentucky.^[1][2][3][4] Her parents were William Allison (abt.1880-1956) and Lena (Pittman) Allison (abt.1880-1952).^[1][2][4] Raised in a strict household where her parents enforced a strong work ethic, she began attending school one day a week at the age of four. Before she even entered the first grade, she had already learned to read.^[4]

Career

Alice's journalism work began early in her life; at the age of thirteen, she began writing for the Owensboro Enterprise, a local newspaper. However, she initially became a teacher, working as one from 1924 to 1942. Insufficient pay forced her to work numerous other jobs in the summer months, including as a tombstone cleaner at a local white cemetery and a washerwoman.^[4]

Following a 1942 call for government workers, Alice moved to Washington, D.C., hoping to earn a government position that would pay her more justly. From 1942 until 1946, she worked as a government employee but switched back to a career in journalism when a position as the Washington correspondent for the African-American newspaper The Chicago Defender became available. She sought press credentials to cover Congress and the Senate but was initially declined as she wrote for a weekly publication as opposed to a daily one. However, 6 months later, she was given approval, making her the first African-American woman to gain accreditation to cover the U.S. Capitol.^[4]

In 1948, Alice became the first African-American female reporter to travel with a U.S. president, following President Harry S. Truman's Western campaign. Gaining a positive reputation as a powerful reporter, she continued covering the White House until the early 1970s, earning more than 50 journalism awards in the process. After her White House career, she continued writing, publishing her autobiography A Black Woman's Experience: From Schoolhouse to White House in 1974.^[4]

Marriage and Children

Alice married Charles Dunnigan (abt.1902-), a childhood friend, on 8 January 1932.^[4] The couple had one child together:

1. Robert William Dunnigan (1932-2016)^[5]

Alice and Charles separated in 1953.^[4]

Death and Memorials

On 6 May 1983, Alice passed away in Washington, D.C. of ischemic bowel disease. Two years later, she was inducted into the Black Journalist Hall of Fame. She is also honored with the Alice Dunnigan Memorial Park in her childhood home of Russellville, which contains a life-size bronze portrait statue of her.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M26W-TTZ : accessed 1 February 2021), Alice Ellison in household of William Ellison, Russellville, Logan, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 47, sheet 11A, family 227, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 492; FHL microfilm 1,374,505.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHG2-6R3 : 3 January 2021), Alice Allison in entry for Wm Allison, 1920.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7YM-NX6 : 9 January 2021), Alice Dunnigam in household of Charles Dunnigam, Russellville, Logan, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 71-3, sheet 8B, line 76, family 193, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1333.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8} Wikipedia contributors, "Alice Allison Dunnigan," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alice_Allison_Dunnigan&oldid=994652145 (accessed February 1, 2021).
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7YM-NXX : 9 January 2021), Robt Dunnigam in household of Charles Dunnigam, Russellville, Logan, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 71-3, sheet 8B, line 77, family 193, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1333.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q4725708, en:Wikipedia