301:
homes or hospitals. Club members learned how to save people in need of health through the
Lifeline program, saving two peoples' lives. The club supported the summer McComb Junior Auxiliary's Camp Sunshine program, which tutored and mentored girls. The motto of the group was "Know The emblem is of the four-leaf clover, to represent the mind, body, soul and race."
274:. Dunham was a member of the Federation of Women's Clubs, serving as the president of the Seventh District, a member of the Credentials Committee of the National Federation, vice president of the State Federation, and statistician of the Southeastern Federation. Dunham had also served as president for Women's Association of Colored Women in Mississippi.
211:, a college established for African Americans. Dunhan was chairman of the religious life committee at Alcorn, coordinating the second annual Rural and Urban Ministers' Institute program "The Challenge of Today's Ministry" in 1963. Church and farming organizations and the Department of Negro Work supported the event. She retired from Alcorn in 1970.
125:(May 6, 1904 – December 1985) was an American educator and activist from the state of Mississippi. She put herself through college and graduate school working in the fields and as a domestic worker. Mississippi Minister Industrial College awarded her an honorary doctorate. Dunham taught history, literature, and social science over her career at
313:. A student that Dunham helped attended the University of Michigan to obtain their Ph.D. By 1977, she had put five people through college, and others that she helped also called her "Mom". The college graduates earned their degrees and attained positions as professors, medical clinicians, and ministers. One student attained her doctorate.
281:, where she was a public speaker and obtained funding through her proposals from 1972 to 1978. She was working on a proposal the day she had a stroke. She would not be admitted to the hospital until she had the proposal with her. Her goal was "improving the status of people in Mississippi through education."
229:
Dunham was national chairman for the
Institute for Rural and Urban Black Women Leaders, who held their second annual program in 1974 at Prentiss Institute. The program that year was "Woman Awareness on the Challenge of Education". The Melerson Guy Dunham Rural and Urban Women's Institute program was
132:
Dunham was active in educational, religious, and civic organizations throughout her life, founding and leading a number of them. She and her husband helped five people complete their education to become ministers, a teacher, and a medical clinician. Dunham attained the title "Mom", although she had
300:
Dunham, of the
National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, established the Lillie Mae Bryant club, with Bertha Redfield. Its objective was to provide opportunities for young ladies to work and serve the seniors and others in their community. They provided home care or visited people at nursing
285:
Born without advantages, Dr. Dunham took what God gave her—human dignity—and tried to instill dignity into others. She had no patience with timidity. She involved herself in civic issues for a better community, was a strong advocate for education, and committed herself to the mission of her
160:
and attended county schools. Dunham picked cotton, worked in the fields, cleaned houses, and washed and ironed laundry to survive, attain a college education, and augment her earnings when she first began teaching for four months a year.
133:
no children of her own, for the support that she provided young people. She established an organization for young ladies to obtain opportunities to work, receive mentoring, and learn and provide life-saving medical care.
191:
before she married, and during the 1970s. In 1972, Dunham became president of the United
Methodist Women's Conference of Mississippi. Dunham died in December 1985. Her last known residence was
129:
and
Prentiss Institute. At both schools she created weekend programs for Rural and Urban Black Women Leaders and Rural and Urban Black Women Leaders about overcoming challenges.
187:
Melerson married James A. Dunham on
February 6, 1943. They did not have any children, but had a number of "adopted children" that they helped and educated. She lived in
771:
751:
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Dunham was recognized as a historian due to her membership in three history organizations and having published the book entitled
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537:"Melerson Guy, Walthall County, Mississippi ("Melson" as the transcribed name, "Melerson" on the census page)",
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Dunham provided funding for students, like Louise Spears, who she called her "daughter". Spears attended the
223:
262:
Dunham was a women's rights activist. She and her husband were civil rights activists, as were her friends
108:
Funding college educations for
African American students, teacher, civil rights and women's rights activist
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Clio's southern sisters : interviews with leaders of the
Southern Association for Women Historians
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Sewell, George A.; Dwight, Margaret L. (1984). "Melerson Guy Dunham: Educator, Author".
184:. In 1973, Mississippi Minister Industrial College awarded her an honorary doctorate.
663:
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at the college. Dunham was a member of the
Ministers of Blacks in Higher Education.
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77:
668:. Knoxville, Tenn. : Tennessee Valley Publishing. pp. 38, 46, 161, 218.
222:. She was chairman of religious life activities and the campus minister for the
214:
After Alcorn, Dunham was a part-time professor of history and literature at the
665:
Mississippi in transition : the role of the
Mississippi Humanities Council
293:
Mississippi in transition : the role of the Mississippi Humanities Council
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172:, where received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. She studied history at
51:
541:, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940
727:. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 236–37 – via JSTOR.
516:. Columbia : University of Missouri Press. 2004. p. 68.
156:, the daughter of Josephine Ratliff and Floyd Guy. She grew up in
246:, and the Mississippi Folk Lore associations. She wrote the book
176:
for her Master of Arts degree in 1958. She was also educated at
230:"Challenge, Change and the Family" from April 18 to 19, 1980.
429:
1977 International Women’s Year (IWY) Oral History Collection
89:
Mississippi Minister Industrial College (honorary doctorate)
453:"Melerson Guy Dunham received Master's Degree in 1958"
385:"Alcorn Historian: Autograph Party for Mrs. Dunham"
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337:, Washington D.C.: Social Security Administration
277:After she retired, Dunham became a member of the
250:. Dunham received the black history award at the
358:. Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1966. p. 368.
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556:"Awards at University of Southern Mississippi"
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140:. She received the black history award at the
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203:In 1958, Dunham taught social science at the
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209:Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College
127:Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College
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693:"Article clipped from Enterprise-Journal"
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655:
610:"Institute for Black Women Opening Today"
478:"Mrs. Dunham named to head church group"
335:Social Security Death Index, Master File
152:Melerson Guy was born on May 6, 1904 in
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333:"Melerson Dunham, died December 1985",
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266:(an activist who was inducted into the
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772:Indiana University Bloomington alumni
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248:Centennial History of Alcorn College
138:Centennial History of Alcorn College
100:Professor of history and literature
752:People from Tylertown, Mississippi
252:University of Southern Mississippi
142:University of Southern Mississippi
14:
355:Who's who in the Methodist Church
216:Prentiss Institute Junior College
724:Mississippi Black History Makers
582:"Minister's Meet Set for Alcorn"
767:Alcorn State University faculty
762:Schoolteachers from Mississippi
757:African-American schoolteachers
240:Southern Historical Association
205:Walthall County Training School
580:Alford, Lois M. (1963-02-13).
279:Mississippi Humanities Council
244:Mississippi Historical Society
174:Indiana University Bloomington
16:American educator and activist
1:
268:National Women's Hall of Fame
158:Walthall County, Mississippi
635:"Women's Institute Planned"
238:Dunham was a member of the
148:Personal life and education
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182:Carnegie Mellon University
170:Holly Springs, Mississippi
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699:. 2004-08-11. p. 11
641:. 1980-04-10. p. 18
484:. 1972-06-01. p. 34
391:. 1971-10-17. p. 59
616:. 1974-04-26. p. 8
562:. 1979-03-14. p. 3
305:Fund college educations
224:United Methodist Church
207:. Dunham taught at the
311:University of Michigan
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189:Tylertown, Mississippi
154:Tylertown, Mississippi
52:Tylertown, Mississippi
662:Norman, Cora (2009).
425:"Melerson Guy Dunham"
220:Prentiss, Mississippi
639:Hattiesburg American
560:Hattiesburg American
193:Bogalusa, Louisiana
123:Melerson Guy Dunham
80:(bachelor's degree)
23:Melerson Guy Dunham
697:Enterprise-Journal
272:Mary Frances Berry
84:Indiana University
675:978-1-932604-69-6
523:978-0-8262-1541-3
178:Tulane University
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86:(master's degree)
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105:Known for
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62:December 1985
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166:Rust College
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78:Rust College
64:(1985-12-00)
747:1985 deaths
742:1904 births
588:. p. 2
48:May 6, 1904
736:Categories
703:2023-07-11
645:2023-07-11
620:2023-07-11
592:2023-07-11
566:2023-07-11
488:2023-07-11
458:2023-07-11
435:2023-07-11
395:2023-07-11
317:References
44:1904-05-06
254:in 1979.
234:Historian
71:Education
289:—
258:Activism
295:
286:church.
672:
520:
270:) and
199:Career
113:Spouse
670:ISBN
518:ISBN
180:and
59:Died
38:Born
218:in
168:of
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42:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
