A 6-foot-tall bronze statue of the pioneering journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan is standing near the West Kentucky African American Heritage Center, in Dunnigan’s hometown, Russellville, Kentucky. The statue depicts Dunnigan as she appears in a picture from 1947, standing with the Washington Post newspaper in her hands outside the US Capitol.
Alice Allison Dunnigan was a reporter for the Associated Negro Press, and in 1947 she became the first black female reporter to get press credentials to cover The White House. She later also reported from the Congress, the State Department, and the Supreme Court. She fought poverty, sexism, and racism to fulfill her dream as a journalist who travels the world. Her stories were published in 112 African-American newspapers in the US.
The statue was created by the Kentucky sculptress Amanda Matthews and her husband. It traveled around the county before arriving at its permanent destination in Russellville. It was on view at the Newseum in Washington DC from September till December 2018. In 2019, it was on view at the University of Kentucky. From there, it traveled to the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, where it was on view till the summer of 2019. On August 2nd, 2019, it was dedicated in a special ceremony with a member of Dunnigan’s family, at the opening the 33rd Annual Russellville Emancipation Celebration.
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