Ernest Dumas

Ernest "Ernie" Dumas was born on December 13, 1937, in El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas.

He attended Henderson State Teachers College before graduating from the University of Missouri—Columbia in 1960 with degrees in Journalism and English.

After graduation, Dumas began his journalism career at the Arkansas Gazette, where he eventually became the associate editor. His work has been featured in the Arkansas Times, New York Times, and Philadelphia Inquirer. He has taught journalism at the University of Central Arkansas. Additionally, Dumas has received the Ernie Deane Award for valor in journalism. He authored Dearest Letty: The World War II Love Letters of Sgt. Leland Duval and The Education of Ernie Dumas: Chronicles of the Arkansas Political Mind, and edited The Clintons of Arkansas: An Introduction by Those Who Know Them Best.

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