Buford Ellington | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theNational Governors Association | |
| In office July 21, 1968 – August 31, 1969 | |
| Preceded by | John Volpe |
| Succeeded by | John Arthur Love |
| 42ndGovernor of Tennessee | |
| In office January 16, 1967 – January 16, 1971 | |
| Lieutenant | Frank Gorrell |
| Preceded by | Frank G. Clement |
| Succeeded by | Winfield Dunn |
| In office January 19, 1959 – January 15, 1963 | |
| Lieutenant | William D. Baird |
| Preceded by | Frank G. Clement |
| Succeeded by | Frank G. Clement |
| Director of theOffice of Emergency Planning | |
| In office March 4, 1965 – March 23, 1966 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Edward McDermott |
| Succeeded by | C. Farris Bryant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Earl Buford Ellington (1907-06-27)June 27, 1907 |
| Died | April 3, 1972(1972-04-03) (aged 64) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Catherine Cheek |
| Education | Holmes Community College Millsaps College |
Earl Buford Ellington (June 27, 1907 – April 3, 1972) was an American politician who served as the 42ndgovernor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963, and again from 1967 to 1971. Along with his political ally,Frank G. Clement, he helped lead a political machine that controlled the governor's office for 18 years, from 1953 to 1971.
Ellington was a supporter of PresidentLyndon B. Johnson; he was appointed in 1965 as the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning during the Johnson Administration.[1]
Ellington was born inHolmes County, Mississippi, the son of Abner and Cora (Grantham) Ellington. He studied religion atMillsaps College inJackson, Mississippi, but had to drop out due to financial difficulties.[1] He edited a newspaper inDurant, Mississippi, for a brief period.
In 1929, he married Catherine Ann Cheek, and moved to her nativeMarshall County, Tennessee, in the south central part of the state. There he bought a store in theVerona community. He worked as a salesman forAmerican Harvester in the 1930s, and was a supervising salesman with Tennessee Farm Bureau Insurance in the early 1940s.[2]
Having joined the Democratic Party, in 1944, Ellington worked in the campaign of successful gubernatorial candidate,Jim Nance McCord.[2] Two years later, he was theMarshall County manager for the campaign of US CongressmanJoe L. Evins. In 1948, Ellington ran and was elected to Marshall County's seat in theTennessee House of Representatives.[1]
In 1952, Ellington managed the successful campaign ofFrank Clement, who defeated incumbentGordon Browning in the Democratic primary for governor, and went on to win the general election. Clement's campaign had the support ofMemphis political bossE. H. Crump, who was seeking to regain the influence he had lost after Browning defeated his candidate, McCord, four years earlier. Clement appointed Ellington asCommissioner of Agriculture, where he served until the late 1950s under more than one administration.[2]
In 1953, theTennessee State Constitution was amended, extending the gubernatorial term from two years to four years. The new amendments prevented governors from serving consecutive terms, but a temporary exception was made for Clement. He was elected to a full four-year term in 1954 after his initial two-year term.
In 1958, with Clement term-limited, Ellington sought the Democratic Party's nomination for governor. His opponents were Memphis mayor Edmund Orgill, Nashville attorneyClifford Allen, and Judge Andrew "Tip" Taylor. Since Crump's death in 1954, the Clement-Ellington alliance had become the state's leading political organization. Ellington won the nomination with 213,415 votes to 204,629 for Taylor, 204,382 for Orgill, and 56,854 for Allen.[2] He won the general election by a sizeable margin over several opponents, among them former Governor McCord, who ran as an independent.[2]
During his first term, Ellington continued many of Clement's policies. Aided by an economic boom, he could approve raises for public school teachers and school administrators without increasing taxes.[1] While he supported continued legalsegregation, he ordered the state to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision inBrown v. Board of Education (1954) that ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional; it ordered desegregation of the public school system.[2]
In 1961, severalTennessee State University students who had participated in theFreedom Rides, to highlight illegal segregation on interstates buses, which were covered by federal law, were expelled after Ellington ordered an investigation into their activities.[3] In response, dozens of protesters picketed the state capitol and demanded a meeting with Ellington, but he refused.[4]
At the1960 Democratic National Convention, a rift had begun to form in the relationship between Clement and Ellington. The former endorsedJohn F. Kennedy for president, and the latter endorsedLyndon B. Johnson.[1]
Following his first term as governor, which ended in 1963, Ellington returned to the private sector, working as a vice president of theLouisville and Nashville Railroad.[2] Vice President Lyndon Johnson succeeded Kennedy to the presidency afterhe was assassinated inDallas in November 1963.
In early 1965, President Johnson appointed Ellington as Director of the Office of Emergency Planning (later integrated intoFEMA). During theSelma to Montgomery marches, which took place at the height of thecivil rights movement in March of that year, Ellington played a key role in establishing contact and talks between President Johnson and GovernorGeorge Wallace ofAlabama. The state provided protection for marchers in the last march.[5] In September, Ellington helped organize federal relief efforts in the wake ofHurricane Betsy.[6]
Ellington again sought the Democratic Party nomination for governor in 1966. His opponent,John Jay Hooker, was a friend of former Governor Browning, and had been endorsed by theNashville Tennessean. Ellington was endorsed by President Johnson, Clement, and theNashville Banner. He defeated Hooker for the nomination, 413,950 votes to 360,105.[2] The divide between Clement and Ellington continued to grow, as Ellington refused to endorse Clement in his US Senate primary campaign againstRoss Bass.[2] Governor Clement attempted to spend the state's budget surplus to ensure the Ellington administration did not inherit it.[1]
Ellington won the general gubernatorial election in 1966. By this time, he had shifted his position on segregation, and openly supported an end to the long-standing practice.[1] In 1967, he appointed African AmericanHosea T. Lockard to his cabinet as administrative assistant; he was the first black cabinet member in state history.[1] On April 4, 1968, theassassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis led Ellington to immediately mobilize theNational Guard, to preventrioting in the city.
In September 1967, Ellington signed a bill repealing theButler Act, the 1925 law that had outlawed the teaching of theTheory of Evolution in state schools.[2]
Ellington did not seek another office after his second term as governor ended. In the 1970 gubernatorial campaign, he refused to endorse the Democratic nominee,John Jay Hooker, and quietly supported the Republican nominee (and eventual winner),Winfield Dunn.[2] Ellington's press secretary, Hudley Crockett, was narrowly defeated by incumbentAlbert Gore Sr., in the 1970 U.S. Senate primary.
Ellington died while playing golf inBoca Raton, Florida, on April 3, 1972. Former President Johnson and Vice PresidentSpiro Agnew were among those who attended his funeral,[1][7] and PresidentRichard Nixon issued a statement of condolence.[8]
Ellington married Catherine Ann Cheek in 1929.[1] They had two children: John, who became a pilot and aviation expert,[9] and Ann, who became an artist.[10] Ellington began a friendship withElvis Presley, who was honored by the Tennessee General Assembly with the title of "Honorary Colonel" on March 8, 1961.[11][12]
During his meeting with the Governor, Elvis met Ellington's teenage daughter Ann Ellington (now Ann Ellington Wagner). The two developed a friendship and Elvis would frequently visit with Ann while in Nashville to record.[13]
While the exact beginnings of Elvis' friendship with Governor Ellington and his daughter are difficult to determine, Ann has stated that she believes Elvis and her father first connected through Elvis' charitable work. Elvis was recognized by the city of Memphis in February 1961 for his work supporting local charities,[14] and according to Ellington Wagner, he would write a check to Governor Ellington every Christmas for donations to orphanages and to provide gifts to children. Ann has speculated that Elvis and her father's friendship continued to grow due to their shared Mississippi heritage and similar upbringings.[13]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Tennessee 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Democratic nominee forGovernor of Tennessee 1966 | Succeeded by | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Tennessee 1959–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Edward McDermott | Director of theOffice of Emergency Planning 1965–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Tennessee 1967–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theNational Governors Association 1968–1969 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
