IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 655 
Honoring the life and accomplishments of Katherine Dunham. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 17, 2007 
Mr. RANGEL submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life and accomplishments of Katherine 
Dunham. 
Whereas Katherine Dunham, a pioneering dancer and cho-
reographer, 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; 
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•HRES 655 IH 
Whereas Katherine Dunham received a bachelor of arts de-
gree in social anthropology from the University of Chi-
cago, was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreog-
raphy, and was one of the founders of the anthropological 
dance movement; 
Whereas Katherine Dunham used her dance and choreog-
raphy 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 bal-
let company in the United States; 
Whereas Les Ballet Negre became known as the Katherine 
Dunham Dance Company, touring in more than 60 coun-
tries 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 cho-
reographer 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, lan-
guages, ethics, philosophy, and drama; 
Whereas, in 1967, Katherine Dunham left Broadway and es-
tablished 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, Span-
ish, French, and Swahili, and more traditional subjects, 
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•HRES 655 IH 
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 Kath-
erine Dunham Museum and Children’s Workshop in 
1977; 
Whereas, in 1993, Katherine Dunham went on a 47-day hun-
ger 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 doctor-
ates and numerous other awards, including the National 
Medal of Arts, Albert Schweitzer Music Award, the Ken-
nedy 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 contribu-
tions to the arts and all of humanity. 
Æ 
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