Alice in Chains

See how a reporter beat the Jim Crow-inspired system

Comments (0) By Steve Jansen Thursday, Jan 27 2011

Attention journalists: Y’all need to bow down to the late Alice Allison Dunnigan.

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Dunnigan (1906-1983) was a black female journalist during some of the most racist times this country has ever had the supreme displeasure of experiencing. So with that setting in mind, imagine what happened when Dunnigan, while writing for the Associated Negro Press, attempted to score press credentials to cover the goings-on in the U.S. Congress and Senate.

Yep. Denied. (Sorry to say this, but our founding fathers didn’t build a Black House for a reason.)

However, Dunnigan’s plight has a pretty neat conclusion. After some additional pursuing and nudging, like a good little reporter, Dunnigan did score those elusive privileges; thus becoming the first African-American woman to gain accreditation to the White House.

The life of Dunnigan is immortalized in A Vote from Alice! when Grey Matters Productions presents the lunchtime theater play.

Tue., Jan. 25, 12:10 p.m.; Wed., Jan. 26, 12:10 p.m.; Thu., Jan. 27, 12:10 p.m.; Tue., Feb. 1, 12:10 p.m.; Wed., Feb. 2, 12:10 p.m.; Thu., Feb. 3, 12:10 p.m., 2011