Title
Honoring and celebrating the life and legacy of service of the Honorable James R. Roebuck, Jr.
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WHEREAS, Former Pennsylvania State representative and assistant history professor at Drexel University, Rep. Jim Roebuck, as he was known to friend, passed away on May 15, 2024, at the age of 79; and
WHEREAS, Rep. Roebuck served as the State Representative from the 188th District in West Philadelphia for 35 years; and
WHEREAS, He also worked as a history and politics lecturer and assistant professor at Drexel from 1970 to 1984, becoming a noted authority on schools and public education. He served as party chair of the House Education Committee for almost 20 years, helped secure state funding for kindergarten programs, the Community College of Philadelphia, and local access to high-speed internet; and
WHEREAS, His love for education was shared by his wife Cheryl, who was music teacher in Philadelphia. Together, they championed schools and public education in the City and across the State. They supported music instruction programs. He tutored reading students at Henry C. Lea Elementary; and
WHEREAS, Rep. Roebuck also endorsed charter school reform and opposed school vouchers for private school tuition; and
WHEREAS, He was known for his exceptional ability to form legislative coalitions and articulating nuances in policy proposals, remembered by his colleagues; and
WHEREAS, His other focuses included arts, job training, community building, and unjust incarceration, helping fund the Ronald McDonald House for families of medical patients and the Mercy Catholic Medical Center emergency department; and
WHEREAS, He was supporter of women's rights, LGBTQ rights, labor rights, gun law reform, and the protection of animals and environment. For nearly 20 years, he led the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, which created a scholarship in his name upon his retirement; and
WHEREAS, Born James Randolph Roebuck, Jr. February 12, 1945. Grew up in West Philadel...
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