Reliving the journey of Alice Dunnigan
Shortly after becoming an accredited White House reporter, Alice Dunnigan wanted to accompany President Harry S. Truman on his tour to the West Coast. No African-American reporter had ever been on such a tour. The cost: $1,000 — more than $10,000 (Dh36,700) in today’s dollars. As she recounted in her autobiography, when Dunnigan asked Claude Barnett, founder of the Associated Negro Press, if he would provide the funds, he replied, “Women don’t go on trips like this”. Dunnigan ended up paying her own way, and it led to one of her first big scoops: “Pyjama Clad President Defends Civil Rights at Midnight.”