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Her legendary name, revolutionary dance moves and fearless social activism is known worldwide. What may not be as well-known is that the renowned Katherine Dunham made 534 Katherine Dunham Place in East St. Louis her second home.

However, approximately 15 years after her death, Dunham’s home stood in disrepair – until now. Hundreds of volunteers, which included faculty, staff and students of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, along with community members, organizations and businesses, spent the past two Saturdays cleaning up the illustrious dancer’s home and two adjacent properties. The effort was phase one of a restoration mission.

“This was a project to support the legacy of Dr. Katherine Dunham,” said John Cabage, PhD, chair and professor in the SIUE School of Engineering’s Department of Construction. “Dr. Dunham was a champion for East St. Louis and Metro East communities, and we wanted to help champion her in this small way.”

“Professor Dunham’s legacy is how her love for East St. Louis manifested itself in actions that reflected the interests and needs of the community that enhanced the overall quality of life,” said Connie Frey Spurlock, PhD, director of the SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC), who also assisted in the project. “This aligns with the SSCC’s goal to advance local resilience and sustainability based on community-identified issues and needs.”

Also assisting in the two-Saturday cleanup were R3 Development NFP in East St. Louis; Lorenzo Savage, executive director of the I Am EStL The Foundation and president of the Katherine Dunham Centers for the Arts and Humanities; Tom Lavelle of Keller Construction in Glen Carbon and more.

“R3 Development organized the cleanup project by coordinating materials, volunteers, work tasks and the day’s activities and agenda,” said Kevin Green, R3 Development manager of program operations and strategic partnerships. “We are a youth workforce training and development organization in East St. Louis. We employ youth ages 16-18 and use construction as a vehicle to teach employment and life skills.

“For this project, we coordinated registration, lunch, tools, dumpster placement and pick-up, and acquired the permit from the City to block the street. We also coordinated efforts between the SIUE Construction Department, the City of East St. Louis and the Katherine Dunham Center for the Arts and Humanities.”

“These homes will be utilized as a resource center and possibly bed and breakfast homes,” said Savage. “We feel this can be a catalytic project in helping to rejuvenate the Olivette Park Neighborhood. I am a proud resident of East St. Louis, and I feel Dr. Dunham’s legacy must be preserved for future generations.”

Dunham, after becoming an artist in residence in 1964 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, founded the Katherine Dunham Performing Arts Training Center (KDPATC) in the late 60s at the SIUE East St. Louis Center. The Edwardsville campus renamed its music and performing arts building: the Katherine Dunham Hall.

Photos: Volunteers from SIUE and the community helped cleanup debris inside and clear away vegetation outside of the home of the legendary Katherine Dunham in East St. Louis.