C. J. McLin
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = C. J. McLin
| image name =
| birth_name = Clarence Josef McLin Jr.
| state_house = Ohio
| state = Ohio
| district = 36th
| term_start = January 3, 1967
| term_end = December 12, 1988
| preceded = District created
| succeeded = Rhine McLin
| party = Democrat
| birth_date = May 31, 1921
| death_date = {{death date and age|1988|12|27|1921|5|31}}
| children = 2, including Rhine
| father = Mac McLin
| birth_place = East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.
| death_place = Dayton, Ohio, U.S.|
| image = C. J. McLin, Jr. - 88th District - Ohio House of Representatives 109th General Assembly - DPLA - 5586be78567b1fe89fca76f0a79cfcb8 (page 10) (cropped).jpg
}}
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 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 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, a dime store at Fourth and Main streets in Dayton, for the store's refusal to serve him because of his race.{{Cite web|title=Clarence Josef McLin, Jr. {{!}} Ohio Statehouse|url=http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/museum/george-washington-williams-room/clarence-josef-mclin-jr|access-date=2021-11-12|website=www.ohiostatehouse.org}}
Career
McLin was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives 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.{{Cite web|title=A Timeline: Black History in the Miami Valley 1798 to 2001|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/timeline-black-history-the-miami-valley-1798-2001/HrbkmUPPZChk0hKo9er94L/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=dayton-daily-news|language=English}} He also co-founded, with State Representative Larry G. Smith, the Black Elected Democrats of Ohio (later the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus) in 1967.{{Cite web|title=CJ McLin|url=https://www.ohiochannel.org/video/cj-mclin|access-date=2021-11-11|website=www.ohiochannel.org}}
McLin was sworn in a twelfth term in 1988, but died a few days later.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qUJKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P4YMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1072,4445087&dq=cj+mclin+ohio&hl=en Ohio Rep. McLin: Ohio's top black legislator] 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.{{cite book|last=Gray|first=David|title=The History of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio F&AM 1971 – 2011: The Fabric of Freemasonry|year=2012|publisher=Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio F&AM|location=Columbus, Ohio|isbn=978-0615632957|pages=414|url=http://www.phaohio.org|access-date=2019-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306063600/http://www.phaohio.org/|archive-date=2012-03-06|url-status=dead}}
Personal life
He was the father of Candace Smith, an attorney, actress, model, and Miss Ohio (2003).{{cite news|last=Moss|first=Khalid|date=December 22, 2002|title=Miss Ohio is Lifelong Achiever|page=E3|newspaper=Dayton Daily News}} 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.{{cite news | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0F51B0B1DD2DF327&p_docnum=4 | title = The Chronology of U.S. 35 West | newspaper = Dayton Daily News | author = Staff | date = October 20, 1996 | accessdate = September 2, 2017 }}{{cite news | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0F51B0BA688E8B4A&p_docnum=2 | title = New Section of U.S. 35 Opens | newspaper = Dayton Daily News | last = Ali | first = Derek | date = October 26, 1996 | accessdate = September 2, 2017 }}
References
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{{Authority control}}
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Category:African-American state legislators in Ohio
Category:Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum
Category:Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives
Category:Politicians from Dayton, Ohio
Category:African-American people in Ohio politics
Category:20th-century African-American politicians
Category:People from East St. Louis, Illinois
Category:20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly
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