Walter E. Fauntroy

Walter E. Fauntroy

Walter Edward Fauntroy (born February 6, 1933 in Washington, DC ) is an American politician . Between 1971 and 1991, he represented the District of Columbia as a non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives .

Career

Walter Fauntroy attended the public schools in his home country. In 1952 he graduated from Dunbar High School in Washington, DC Then he studied until 1955 at Virginia Union University in Richmond , Virginia . This was followed by a degree in theology at the theological faculty of Yale University until 1958 . Since 1959 he has been a pastor at the New Bethel Baptist Church . He joined the civil rights movement and became one of its leaders. Among other things, he was one of the organizers of the March on Washington in 1963 . He founded the Model Inner City Community Organization , of which he was president between 1966 and 1972. From 1960 to 1971 he directed the Washington branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference . He also held several offices in the social and church areas. Politically, he joined the Democratic Party . In July 1972 he took part as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach . In 1972 and 1976 he ran unsuccessfully in the primary elections for the presidential elections of those years.

On March 23, 1971, Fauntroy was elected as a non-voting delegate for the Federal District of Columbia to the US House of Representatives, where he took up his new mandate on March 23, 1971. This position had been reinstated after being abolished in 1875 after only four years of existence; the only delegate during this period was Norton P. Chipman . After nine re-elections, Fauntroy could remain in Congress until January 3, 1991 . During this time, among other things, the end of the Vietnam War and in 1974 the Watergate affair fell . In 1990 he renounced another candidacy. Instead, he unsuccessfully ran for the office of mayor of Washington, DC. After his time in the US House of Representatives, he founded a lobbying firm. He continues to work as a pastor and is a staunch opponent of the tea party movement . He has two children with his wife Dorothy Simms.

Web links

• Walter E. Fauntroy in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Walter E. Fauntroy in the Notable Names Database (English)