The late correspondents were dedicated storytellers who once graced the halls of The White House, theGrio reported. They were also the first Black female reporters approved to be in the presidential briefing room as political journalists. Dunnigan worked for the Associated Negro Press in 1948 when she received her credentials to join The White House press corps, and Payne, who worked for The Chicago Defender, became the second not long after in the 1950s. Now, their names will forever be remembered inside the “President’s Palace” on the new Dunnigan-Payne lectern dedicated to them.

Black trailblazers

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