Clarence Josef McLin Jr. (May 31, 1921 – December 28, 1988) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 Clarence Josef McLin Sr. (August 20, 1899 – December 20, 1966) was an American civic leader and businessman in Dayton, Ohio. Early life McLin was born in Tennessee and also lived in Chicago. Career McLin founded the McLin Funeral Home ...

Early life

McLin was born in

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a bus ...

and moved with his family to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

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 cou ...

, 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, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...

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

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 of the Democratic Party. Riffe served for many years in the Ohio House of Representatives and was the longest serving speaker of the Ohio House of Representative ...

. 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 Rhine Lana McLin (born October 1948) is an American Democratic politician from Ohio who served as the 54th mayor of Dayton, Ohio from 2002 to 2010. McLin previously served as a member of both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly. Education M ...

was appointed to fill his seat.

Personal life

He was the father of

Candace Smith Candace Elizabeth Smith (born February 1, 1977) is an American lawyer, actress, television personality, life coach, and author from Dayton, Ohio. Early life and education Smith was born in Dayton, Ohio and is a graduate of Chaminade Julienne Hig ...

, an attorney, actress, model, and Miss Ohio (2003). The

US 35 U.S. Route 35 (US 35) is a United States Highway that runs southeast-northwest for approximately from the western suburbs of Charleston, West Virginia to northern Indiana. Although the highway is physically southeast-northwest, it is nomin ...

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

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

External links

* 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 20th-century American politicians African-American people in Ohio politics 20th-century African-American politicians People from East St. Louis, Illinois {{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub