divide between Clement and Ellington continued to grow, as Ellington refused to endorse Clement in his US Senate primary campaign against Ross Bass. Governor Clement attempted to spend the state's budget surplus to ensure the Ellington administration did not inherit it. 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. In 1967, he appointed African American Hosea T. Lockard to his cabinet as administrative assistant; he was the first black cabinet member in state history. On April 4, 1968, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis led Ellington to immediately mobilize the National Guard, to prevent rioting in the city. In September 1967, Ellington signed a bill repealing the Butler Act, the 1925 law that had outlawed the teaching of the Theory of Evolution in state schools. Later life 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. Ellington's press secretary, Hudley Crockett, was narrowly defeated by incumbent Al Gore, Sr., in the 1970 U.S. Senate primary. Ellington died while playing golf in Boca Raton, Florida, on April 3, 1972. Former President Johnson and Vice President Spiro Agnew were among those who attended his funeral, and President Richard Nixon issued a statement of condolence. Family and legacy Ellington married Catherine Ann Cheek in 1929. They had two children: John, who became a pilot and aviation expert, and Ann, who became an artist. The Ellington Agricultural Center, the headquarters of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, is named in honor of Governor Ellington. A golf course at Henry Horton State Park and buildings on the campuses of Tennessee Technological University, the University of Memphis, and the University of Tennessee at Martin were also named in his honor. The Financial Aid and Registrar building on the campus of Austin Peay State University is named in Ellington’s honor. See also List of governors of Tennessee References External links Governor Buford Ellington Papers (finding aid) – Tennessee State Library and Archives Buford Ellington Papers – Middle Tennessee State University Finding Aid for the Buford Ellington Papers - University of Tennessee Knoxville Libraries Portrait painting of Governor Ellington – Tennessee Portrait Project Photographic portrait of Governor