Eisenhower, by then elected president, appointed Washington as alternate American delegate to the Twelfth session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1957,[3][8] where he served on the Special Political Committee.[4] Eisenhower ended up appointing eight African Americans as alternate representatives to the UN, surpassing his Democratic predecessor, Harry S. Truman, who had appointed only three.[8]
Washington then ran again in the 1960 US House elections for the 1st district. In the Republican primary, he ran against James M. Burr, who previously had sought the nomination unsuccessfully in 1958.[5] Washington won the Republican primary[9] but again lost the general election to Dawson.[10] During the 1964 Republican National Convention, Washington and Euclid Taylor, a Chicago-based attorney, served as the only two African American delegates from Illinois, representing the 1st congressional district. Even though both were pledged to Nelson Rockefeller, Washington stated during a closed caucus meeting that he had wanted to vote for the eventual nominee, Barry Goldwater, to show unity.[11][12] During the convention, Washington gave one of the speeches seconding Rockefeller's nomination.[13] He and Taylor joined two other Illinois delegates in supporting a proposal by William Scranton, governor of Pennsylvania, which would have modified the Republican platform to call for strengthening federal enforcement of civil rights legislation. Scranton's proposal failed at the convention.[14] At the next Republican National Convention in 1968, Washington again supported Rockefeller for the presidential nomination, while most of the Illinois delegation backed Richard Nixon.[15] Washington was also one of two Illinois delegates who abstained on the vice presidential ballot, declining to support Spiro Agnew.[16]
Illinois House of Representatives
Washington was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1966. He represented the 22nd district, reclaiming a seat that Democrats had taken control of in 1964.[note 2][18][4] From 1967 through 1972 he worked on bills related to civil rights and women's rights.[3] Washington supported a fair housing proposal in 1967 that prohibited real estate brokers from refusing to sell or rent African Americans, but it contained an exception when the property owners explicitly consented to the discrimination. Washington did not believe the legislature would pass a bill prohibiting discrimination by homeowners, as such a proposal would have been seen as "forced housing".[19] In 1969, he and other Black members of the House filibustered an appropriations bill for the Illinois Department of Conservation to secure funding for recruitment and job training of minorities.[20] In 1972, Washington sponsored an emergency appropriations bill directing $19 million to public aid.[21]
During his campaign for reelection in 1972, Washington faced three challengers for the Republican nomination, including Susan Catania, a freelance technical publications consultant. The Chicago Tribune reported that Catania was running "one of the most vigorous campaigns of the year", in contrast to the other candidates. Washington was confident of his reelection and led a relatively quiet campaign.[1]
Washington had cancer and did not survive the election season, dying in his home on October 14, 1972, at age 76. Catania succeeded him as the Republican representative from their district.[note 3][2][25]
Notes
^Washington stated in early 1972 that he was in his 70s but unsure of his exact age, having lost his birth records.[1] When he died later that year, his obituary said that he was 76.[2]
^Due to the state's failure to redistrict, the 1964 Illinois House of Representatives election was an at-large election. All of the Democratic candidates won, taking control of the House from Republicans. As a result, 35 Republicans lost their seats, including Elwood Graham of the 22nd district.[17] New legislative maps were approved for the 1966 elections.
^Each district elected three members to the House, through a system of cumulative voting meant to encourage bipartisanship.[22] This guaranteed that the 22nd district would elect one Republican member, despite being predominantly Democratic.[23][24]
