A month of discussion of the life and contributions of the late famed journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan and the integration of local schools begins Monday evening.
Mrs. Dunnigan was a Logan County native who taught segregated schools here before becoming an acclaimed journalist. She became the first African American female journalist to be accredited as part of the National Press Corps in Washington, D.C.
She is a member of Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, and a plaque commemorates her life in Carrico Park Square in downtown Russellville.
From 4-5:45 p.m. today, tours will be conducted of the Dunnigan Exhibit at the West Kentucky African American Heritage Center at 252 South Morgan Street in Russellville. A tree planting is also planned at the nearby Russellville Urban Garden Project. Michael Morrow is the guiding force for the African American Museums, and Dr. Nancy Dawson leads the Urban Garden Project.
Then at 6 p.m., a public discussion will be held at the K of P Hall on East Fifth Street. Members of Mrs. Dunnigan’s Allison family—many of whom still live in Logan County—will be part of the discussion of the recently condensed Dunnigan autobiography Alone Atop the Hill: Pioneer of the National Black Press, edited by Carol McCabe Booker.
This is how Amazon describes the book: “In 1942 Alice Allison Dunnigan, a sharecropper’s daughter from Kentucky, made her way to the nation’s capitol and a career in journalism that eventually led her to the White House. With Alone atop the Hill, Carol McCabe Booker has condensed Dunnigan’s 1974 self-published autobiography to appeal to a general audience.”
Also at the K of P Hall tonight, Russellville native Nelson Weaver will discuss his recently released book The Way It Was, Kentucky Edition. He is here all week for the Tobacco & Heritage Festival and to promote the book, which combines fact and fiction about integration of Southern schools, especially in Russellville.
Community Readings of the Dunnigan book will continue the next three Mondays in October at Logan County Public Library.
On Oct. 10 at 6 p.m., chapters 1-7 will be discussed. Also Clarence Gamble will talk about the Cedar Grove Rosenwald School, and Dr. Dawson will lead the unveiling of a quilt in honor of Mrs. Dunnigan.
The Oct. 17 6 p.m. discussion at the library will include a lecture on Rosenwald Schools by Dr, Alicestyne Turley, assistant professor of African American Studies at Berea College. Discussion of Chapters 8-12 of Alone Atop the Hill will be held.
Dr, Turley’s visit is sponsored by Logan County Public Library. Her Rosenwald Exhibit is on display at the library through Oct. 24.
Booker, who edited the rewrite of the autobiography, will join the discussion by SKYPE at the library on Oct, 24, A dramatic production is also planned at 6 p.m., as is a discussion of Chapters 13-21.
All events are free.