C. J. McLin
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Clarence Josef McLin Jr. (May 31, 1921 – December 27, 1988) was an American mortician and politician who served as a member of the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
for the 36th district from 1967 to 1988. His father was civil rights leader Mac McLin.


Early life

McLin was born in East St. Louis, Illinois and moved with his family to
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
in 1931, where he attended Dunbar High School and worked at the family business, the McLin Funeral Home. As a youth, McLin filed a civil rights lawsuit against
McCrory's McCrory Stores or J.G. McCrory's was a chain of five and dime stores in the United States based in York, Pennsylvania. The stores typically sold shoes, clothing, housewares, fabrics, penny candy, toys, cosmetics, and often included a lunch co ...
, a
dime store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells th ...
at Fourth and Main streets in Dayton, for the store's refusal to serve him because of his race.


Career

McLin was elected to the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
in 1966 and assumed office in 1967. During his 22-year-long tenure, McLin became known as a powerful member of the House. He was also a close ally of Speaker
Vern Riffe Vernal G. Riffe Jr. (June 26, 1925 – July 31, 1997) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. Riffe served in the Ohio House of Representatives for 36 years, from 1959 to 1995, and served as speaker for 19 years, from 1 ...
. He also co-founded, with State Representative Larry G. Smith, the Black Elected Democrats of Ohio (later the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus) in 1967. McLin was sworn in a twelfth term in 1988, but died a few days later. He was the longest-serving black legislator in Ohio history at the time of his death. His daughter, Rhine McLin was appointed to fill his seat.


Personal life

He was the father of Candace Smith, an attorney, actress, model, and Miss Ohio (2003). The US 35 expressway in west Dayton, which was completed in October 1996, is designated the C. J. McLin Jr. Parkway in honor of McLin's longtime advocacy for and work toward the construction of such a highway.


References

1921 births 1988 deaths African-American state legislators in Ohio Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Politicians from Dayton, Ohio African-American people in Ohio politics 20th-century African-American politicians People from East St. Louis, Illinois 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly {{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub