[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 655 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                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;
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, 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.