On the recordDecember 22, 2022
I rise today to recognize the exceptional career and life of Dr. William Finlayson. Dr. Finlayson is a pillar of the Milwaukee Black Community and has left an indelible mark on so many families in Wisconsin's largest city. Dr. Finlayson was born in 1924 in Manatee, FL. From a young age, he studied and excelled at school, and at age 16 he started his collegiate career at Florida A&M. At age 19, Finlayson entered the U.S. Army and served as a first lieutenant from 1943 through 1946. During his time in the U.S. Army, he taught illiterate Black soldiers how to read, receiving a promotion to second lieutenant due to his work. He then served in the Army Reserves between 1946 to 1953. While serving in the Reserves, Finlayson moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College. It was during this time that he became classmates and fraternity brothers with the late Martin Luther King, Jr. Finlayson graduated from Morehouse in 1948 with his B.S and then attended Meharry Medical College in 1953. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Finlayson arrived to the city of Milwaukee in 1958, where segregation was making it difficult for Black physicians to get hired by the city's best hospitals. Ever determined, Dr. Finlayson founded his own private practice, along with Dr. Walter White, Dr. Randall Pollard, Dr. George Hillard, and Dr. Gerald Poindexter. He was eventually admitted as the first Black doctor at St. Joseph's Hospital.…
