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Newseum to Display Statue of Kentucky's Dunnigan, First African-American Woman to Cover Congress

WKU Public Radio | By Rhonda Miller
Published July 11, 2018 at 5:32 PM EDT

A statue of Kentucky native Alice Dunnigan will be on display at the Newseum, the Washington, D.C. museum that promotes an understanding of freedom of the press and the First Amendment. Dunnigan was the first African-American woman to get credentials to cover Congress and the White House.

Dunnigan was a sharecropper’s daughter from Logan County who became a teacher and then a journalist working for the American Negro press. In 1947, she was the first African-American woman to receive  Congressional press credentials. 

Her statue will be on display at the Newseum beginning September 21 and will remain there for several months. After that, the statue will become part of the West Kentucky African-American Heritage Center in her hometown of Russellville.

Michael Morrow, a volunteer historian in Russellville who serves as a guide at the African-American Heritage Center, said Dunnigan had to push hard to get access to the highest levels of government.

“She was attending President Robert Taft’s funeral and when she came in she showed her press credentials and they just looked at her and put her with the servants. And after talking to people she found out that blacks were not allowed to report on Congress, the D.C. police, the Supreme Court or the president," said Morrow." And she felt that was wrong, so she started protesting and raising Cain about it and eventually she got it overturned.”

Joe Gran Clark, an attorney who is active in historic preservation in Russellville, said Dunnigan’s accomplishments have a lasting impact.

“She was a pioneer in so many areas that are so relevant today. The racism that she had to fight against, the sexism. She talks about as she got older, ageism affected her as well," said Clark. "In today's world where the press is under attack, where there are so many social issues that need to be talked about and reported about, she was there to fight those battles, to get into the hearings and the briefings, so that she could hear the story, ask the questions."

Dunnigan’s bronze statue has been created by Kentucky sculptor Amanda Matthews and is being cast at the Prometheus Foundry in Lexington.

Alice Dunnigan at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Kentucky Commission on Human Rights /
Alice Dunnigan at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Copyright 2018 WKU Public Radio
Rhonda Miller
Rhonda Miller began as reporter and host for All Things Considered on WKU Public Radio in 2015. She has worked as Gulf Coast reporter for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where she won Associated Press, Edward R. Murrow and Green Eyeshade awards for stories on dead sea turtles, health and legal issues arising from the 2010 BP oil spill and homeless veterans. She has worked at Rhode Island Public Radio, as an intern at WVTF Public Radio in Roanoke, Virginia, and at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Rhonda’s freelance work called Writing Into Sound includes stories for Voice of America, WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield, Conn., NPR and AARP Prime Time Radio. She has a master’s degree in media studies from Rhode Island College and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University. Rhonda enjoys quiet water kayaking, riding her bicycle and folk music. She was a volunteer DJ for Root-N-Branch at WUMD community radio in Dartmouth, Mass.
See stories by Rhonda Miller