First White House female black scribe gets life- size statue
Washington: Journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan triumphed over sexism and racism to become the first black woman accredited to cover the White House. In recognition of her achievements, the Newseum unveiled a statue in her honor on Friday.
The bronze life- size statue will remain in the Newseum, just steps away from the National Mall and the White House, until December. The statue, based on a photo of Dunnigan standing on the steps of the US Capitol, depicts her in hat and pearls, a folded newspaper in her hands.
Members of Dunnigan's family, friends, colleagues and admirers gasped with joy as the statue was revealed, with some crying. The statue by Amanda Matthews will be moved to the West Kentucky African American Heritage Center in Dunnigan's hometown of Russellville, Kentucky, in December. “Monuments inform us of our past, but they also lead us toward our future,” Matthews said just before the statue was unveiled. “Alice Dunnigan envisioned a future of equality and she dedicated her life to that vision as a teacher, a journalist, an editor and a champion for civil rights and women. She is why we’re all here today, to continue to support that vision.” Dunnigan was trained as a teacher but wanted to be a journalist. After working at The Chicago Defender, she became the Washington bureau chief for the Associated Negro Press, where she wrote about government and politics for 112 AfricanAmerican newspapers. She then made history when she received White House press credentials in 1947 and became part of the White House traveling press corps covering President Harry Truman’s re- election campaign in 1948. Dunnigan would go on to cover Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.