SEEK Museum

RUSSELLVILLE, KENTUCKY

One of Russellville, Kentucky’s most notable figures of the civil rights movement was Alice Allison Dunnigan, a native of Logan County who fiercely fought in the struggle for equal rights. From the very beginning, Dunnigan, a teacher in Kentucky’s segregated schools, fought for improved facilities and resources, going so far as to create learning materials that included the Black history often left out of textbooks.

“She went to segregated schools in Kentucky, a segregated college, which became Kentucky State, and then came back to teach in segregated schools,” said Joseph Clark of the SEEK Museum. “So throughout her life, education was a big part of the stories she wrote and the issues she addressed.”

Dunnigan went on to become the first Black woman to attend White House, Congress and Supreme Court press briefings. And she never took a back seat in those rooms but instead asked poignant questions to raise the public’s consciousness about segregation and Black voting rights.

Dunnigan’s legacy is celebrated at the SEEK Museum’s Payne-Dunnigan House. While walking through the home where she lived for decades, visitors can immerse themselves in the history of her work and the impact of other Kentuckians who fought for civil rights.

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