H. Res. 655 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

July 23, 2008. 

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’’; 

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; 
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•HRES 655 EH 

Whereas, in 1930, Katherine Dunham brought African and 

Caribbean influences to the European-dominated dance 

world by founding Les Ballet Negre, one of the first 

Black ballet companies in the United States; 

Whereas the Negro Dance Group, founded in 1934, became 

known as the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, touring in nearly 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; 

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 the late 1960s, and 

the Katherine Dunham Museum and Children’s Workshop in 1977; 

Whereas, in 1992, Katherine Dunham went on a 47-day hunger strike to call attention to the plight of the Haitians, 
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•HRES 655 EH 

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 over 10 honorary 

doctorates and numerous other awards, including the 

Presidential 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 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the 

life and accomplishments of Katherine Dunham and recognizes Katherine Dunham’s immeasurable contributions to the 

arts and all of humanity. 

Attest: 

Clerk.