Lillian Walker (Louisiana politician)

Lillian W. Walker (born May 8, 1923)^[1] is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, having served from 1964–1972,^[2] corresponding with the administration of Governor John J. McKeithen, her fellow Democrat.

Walker was narrowly unseated in the general election held on February 1, 1972, by the Republican Clark Gaudin, also of Baton Rouge. Gaudin polled 6,949 votes (51 percent) to Walker’s 6,645 (49 percent).^[3] Only the fourth Republican to have served in the Louisiana legislature since Reconstruction, Gaudin had served a partial term from 1967–1968, having won a special election created by the resignation of Luther F. Cole,^[2] who became a judge.

For most of her two terms, Walker was the only woman among the 105 House members. In 1969, she was joined by Helen L. Laperouse of New Iberia, who followed her late husband, Lionel Laperouse, Jr. In 1971, Dorothy Mae Taylor of New Orleans became the first African American female representative.^[4] Early in her tenure, she persuaded Governor McKeithen to establish the Louisiana Commission on the Status of Women.^[5]

Walker, a native of a rural community near Meridian in Lauderdale County in eastern Mississippi, was an alternate delegate from Louisiana to the 1960 Democratic National Convention, which met in Los Angeles to nominate the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ticket.^[6] In 1996, Walker was inducted into the Louisiana Center for Women and Government at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux. In 2002, she was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.^[7] Walker is the widow of Edward E. Walker (1921–1998). Her daughter is Betti Helen Walker (born June 2, 1952).^[8] Her mentally handicapped son is Edward Theodore "Eddie" Walker (born 1945). When Eddie was denied entry into the public schools, Mrs. Walker entered the political arena to work for the betterment of the mentally retarded and physically handicapped. Her work led to the creation of the Association for Mentally Retarded Citizens. She pushed for handicapped accessibility in the Louisiana State Capitol and other public buildings.

Walker still resides in Baton Rouge.

References