IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 859 

Honoring the life and accomplishments of Katherine Dunham and extending 

condolences to her family on her death. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 9, 2006 

Mr. RANGEL (for himself, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. 

NORTON, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. LEE, Mr. WYNN, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. DAVIS of Alabama) submitted 

the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and accomplishments of Katherine Dunham 

and extending condolences to her family on her death. 

Whereas Katherine Dunham, a pioneering dancer and choreographer, author, and civil rights activist was born on 

June 22, 1909, and passed away on May 21, 2006, at 

the age of 96; 

Whereas, at the age of 12, Katherine Dunham wrote her first 

published short story in a magazine edited by W.E.B. 

DuBois; 

Whereas, as class poet in high school, Katherine Dunham 

wrote a memoir entitled ‘‘A Touch of Innocence’’; 


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Whereas, in the 1930s, Katherine Dunham revolutionized 

American dance by incorporating the roots of Black 

dance and ritual to develop a uniquely different dance 

form; 

Whereas Katherine Dunham received a bachelor of arts degree in social anthropology from the University of Chicago, was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreography, and was one of the founders of the anthropological 

dance movement; 

Whereas Katherine Dunham used her dance and choreography career and public status to draw attention to the 

civil rights movement and the issue of segregation; 

Whereas, in 1931, Katherine Dunham brought African and 

Caribbean influences to the European-dominated dance 

world by founding Les Ballet Negre, the first Black ballet company in the United States; 

Whereas Les Ballet Negre became known as the Katherine 

Dunham Dance Company, touring in more than 60 countries on 6 continents from the 1940s to the 1960s; 

Whereas Katherine Dunham was a dancer, choreographer, 

and director on Broadway, and was the first Black choreographer at the Metropolitan Opera; 

Whereas, in 1945, Katherine Dunham founded the Dunham 

School of Dance and Theatre in Manhattan, providing a 

centralized location for students to immerse themselves in 

dance technique and study topics in the humanities, languages, ethics, philosophy, and drama; 

Whereas, in 1967, Katherine Dunham left Broadway and established the Performing Arts Training Center in East 

St. Louis, Illinois, to teach culture to underprivileged 

youths; 


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Whereas Katherine Dunham taught dance, African hair 

braiding and woodcarving, conversational Creole, Spanish, French, and Swahili, and more traditional subjects, 

such as aesthetics and social science, to the youths of 

East St. Louis, Illinois; 

Whereas Katherine Dunham founded the Katherine Dunham 

Centers for Arts and Humanities in 1969, and the Katherine Dunham Museum and Children’s Workshop in 

1977; 

Whereas, in 1993, Katherine Dunham went on a 47-day hunger strike to call attention to the plight of the Haitians, 

thereby helping to shift public opinion on United States 

relations with the Republic of Haiti and precipitating the 

return of the first democratically elected president of the 

Republic of Haiti; 

Whereas Katherine Dunham has received 10 honorary doctorates and numerous other awards, including the National 

Medal of Arts, Albert Schweitzer Music Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, the French Legion of Honor, and 

the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award; 

Whereas Katherine Dunham was an activist, teacher, dancer, 

and mentor to young people throughout the world; and 

Whereas, with the death of Katherine Dunham on May 21, 

2006, in New York City, the United States lost a prolific 

and premier artist and humanitarian: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) honors the life and accomplishments of 

3 Katherine Dunham; 


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1 (2) recognizes Katherine Dunham’s immeas2 urable contributions to the arts and all of humanity; 

3 and 

4 (3) extends its condolences to Katherine 

5 Dunham’s family. 

Æ 


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