Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - July 27, 2006)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, post offices are often designated in honor of individuals who have made valuable contributions to their Nation. Today, I am pleased to honor Ms. Katherine Dunham, the world-renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher, and social activist, by cosponsoring legislation that designates the U.S. Post Office at 950 Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis, IL, as the ``Katherine Dunham Post Office Building.''

Born in Chicago and raised in Joliet, IL, Ms. Dunham began dancing while in high school. She became one of the first African Americans to attend the University of Chicago and later earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in anthropology. In 1938, Dunham was hired as dance director for Chicago's Federal Theatre Project, where her fiery style would mark her work for several decades.

In the spring of 1938, Ms. Dunham formed her own company, the Dunham Dance Company, and began to explore the connection of Caribbean dance to its African roots. In 1940, the company traveled to New York and performed a program titled ``Tropics and Le Jazz Hot.'' New York Times critic John Martin said: ``Her performance may very well become a historic occasion.'' Dunham's company undertook a national tour and performed on Broadway and in Hollywood. In 1945, Dunham opened the Katherine Dunham School of Arts and Research in New York. That same year, the company toured Europe with a program called ``Caribbean Rhapsody,'' which was already a success in the United States. It was the first time Europe had seen Black dance as an art form and also the first time that special elements of American modern dance appeared outside America. In 1963, Dunham secured her place in artistic history by becoming the first black choreographer at the Metropolitan Opera, where she helped stage the new production of ``Aida.''

Dunham shut down her dance company in 1965 to become adviser to the cultural ministry of Senegal. She attended the first World Festival of Negro Arts in Senegal as an official representative from the United States.

In 1967, Dunham opened the Performing Arts Training Center, an African-American cultural center for local youngsters, in East St. Louis, IL. She later expanded the program to include senior citizens.

Except for a brief appearance in 1965, Dunham did not perform regularly after 1962 as she focused on her choreography. One of her major works was choreographing and directing Scott Joplin's opera ``Treemonisha'' in 1972.

In February 1992, at the age of 82, Dunham again became the subject of international attention when she began a 47-day fast at her East St. Louis home. Because of her age, her involvement with Haiti, and the respect accorded her as an activist and artist, Dunham became the center of a movement that coalesced to protest the United States' deportations of Haitian boat-refugees fleeing to the United States after the military overthrow of Haiti's democratically-elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. She agreed to end her fast only after Aristide visited her and personally requested her to stop.

Ms. Dunham is the recipient of many coveted awards, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Dance Pioneer Award, the National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center Honors, the French Legion of Honor, the Southern Cross of Brazil, the Grand Cross of Haiti, the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lincoln Academy Laureate, the Urban League's Lifetime Achievement Award, and numerous honorary degrees. She was also one of 75 women whose lives were celebrated in the book, ``I Have a Dream''.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Ms. Dunham's humanitarian, artistic, and intellectual contributions to the world of dance. She revolutionized American dance and used her fame to bring public attention to social injustices at home and abroad. It is appropriate to express our appreciation to Katherine Dunham for her service to the East St. Louis community and to the world by naming an East St. Louis post office in her honor.

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