Maybe they are descendents of Booker T. Washington or some other slave with an owner of the surname Washington?
This is what wikipedia says anyway:
In the Americas, the family names of many African-Americans have their origins in slavery. Many of them came to bear the surnames of their former owners. Many freed slaves either created family names themselves or else adopted the name of their former master. Others, such as Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, changed their name rather than live with one they believed had been given to their ancestors by a slave owner.
This message was edited 7/4/2007, 12:03 PM