Whitefield J. McKinlay (September 15, 1852 – December 14, 1941) was a teacher, state legislator, and real estate businessman who lived in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

and then Washington D.C. The

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

has a

glass plate negative Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a capture medium in photography, and were still used in some communities up until the late 20th century. The light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was coated on a glass plate, typically thi ...

portrait of him. In other photographs he is among leaders of Charleston's African American community. He was a Republican. Many of his letters remain. He was born in

to George and Mary E. Weston McKinlay. He studied at

Avery Institute The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is a division of the College of Charleston library system. The center is located on the site of the former Avery Normal Institute in the Harleston village district at 125 Bull Stre ...

, West Point,

Iowa College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

and the University of South Carolina. His years at the University of South Carolina during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

when it was opened up to African Americans ended when Democrats regained control. He was elected to serve in South Carolina's 1868 legislature along with numerous other African Americans and Republicans. He married Kate Wheeler and moved to Washington D.C. as conditions for African Americans deteriorated for African Americans in South Carolina. Washington D.C. became less inclusive in the years after their arrival as Democrats held power and

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

era segregation took hold. McKinlay was invited to attend the dedication of the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...

in 1922. He and other African American guests learned they were to be segregated in a separate section upon arrival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinlay, Whitefield J. 1852 births 1941 deaths Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina Republicans 19th-century American legislators African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era University of South Carolina alumni African-American state legislators in South Carolina United States Military Academy alumni Grinnell College alumni African-American businesspeople 19th-century American educators American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from South Carolina 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century African-American politicians