good friends, good work
For a while, Alice Dunnigan was the only Black woman reporter in the White House Press Corps.
In 1953, Ethel Payne of The Chicago Defender was accredited, becoming the second Black woman and third Black journalist to join. Alice and Ethel were frequently paired together in their careers — and now in their legacies.
Alice and Ethel often faced similar challenges. Both fruitlessly raised their hands for over a year without getting called on because President Eisenhower wanted to avoid answering questions about civil rights. Both were targeted by a sexist fellow journalist.
He derisively called them “the two gal reporters,” but like other pejorative terms that have been reclaimed, I kind of like it. The male journalist may have been using it as an insult, but there’s nothing negative about being two pioneering women. I’d proudly call myself a “gal reporter.”
In recent years, Alice and Ethel have been honored together. In 2022, the White House Correspondents’ Association named a lifetime achievement award after the two women, and in 2024, then White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre named a lectern after them.
It’s unclear whether Alice and Ethel had a friendship beyond work — maybe they simply shared exasperated glances during frustrating moments. But I hope they were friends, bonded by a shared love for their work.
Earlier this week, I read Troublesome Rising, an anthology about the 2022 flooding at Hindman Settlement School and in the region. Editor Melissa Helton wrote that she found her “creative soulmates” at her job and in the surrounding community.
This especially resonated with me this week; I spent two days at Picture Kentucky, the annual photojournalism workshop put on by the Kentucky Kernel and the UK School of Journalism and Media. For the past four years, I’ve been the writing consultant for Picture Kentucky; a list of staff described me as “scribbler.”
I love Picture Kentucky because it’s a program that encourages (1) doing good work and (2) doing it with good people. Producing high-quality work with people I love and respect is one of my chief goals and greatest joys in life. If that didn’t start with the Kernel, it was certainly solidified there.
Picture Kentucky is a place that encourages creation, and I have some upcoming deadlines, so during downtime I worked on my book about Alice. I brainstormed aloud to Loui, Kris, and Aidan as I worked. At other times, Aidan showed us his recently taken photos. It’s such a gift to work in that environment.
So I hope that Alice and Ethel were creative soulmates. I’m sure thankful for mine.
