Christopher M. Rabb (born February 21, 1970) is an American politician, professor, and author. A Democrat, he is a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

, representing the 200th District since 2017. In a heavily Democratic district where winning the primary is tantamount to winning the election, he defeated the incumbent, who had the support of the Democratic establishment, in 2016.

Early life and education

Rabb was born in Chicago, to an ophthalmologist and professor father, Maurice Rabb Jr., and a politically active mother, Madeline Murphy Rabb. His maternal grandmother Madeline Wheeler Murphy, was a Baltimore-based community activist, and his maternal grandfather, William H. Murphy Sr, was a judge in Baltimore Rabb's great-great-grandfather, John H. Murphy Sr., was born a slave and founded the ''

Baltimore Afro-American The ''Baltimore Afro-American'', commonly known as ''The Afro'' or ''Afro News'', is a weekly African-American newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the flagship newspaper of the ''AFRO-American'' chain and the longest-running Africa ...

'' in 1892. Shortly after beginning his undergraduate education at Yale in 1988, Rabb was instrumental in the removal of an image of a shackled slave from the common room of Calhoun College (named after alumnus

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

). In the process Rabb also learned he was a descendant of Philip Livingston. Rabb received his bachelor's degree from Yale in 1992. Rabb got a master's degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006.

Career

In the early 90s Rabb worked as an aide to former U.S. Senator

Carol Moseley Braun Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun (born August 16, 1947), is an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Moseley Braun was the first African-Ameri ...

. He then worked for the Clinton administration in the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. Since moving to Philadelphia to obtain his master's at Penn, he has taught a business course at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. He published the non-fiction book ''Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity'' in 2010.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

In 2016, Rabb defeated the incumbent Tonyelle Cook-Artis in a three-way Democratic primary 47% to 40%, and then defeated Republican challenger Latryse McDowell 94% to 5% in the November general election. He won the 2018 primary over challenger Melissa Scott 52%-48%, and has run unopposed since. His opponents were supported by the Philadelphia Democratic establishment. Rabb serves on a number of House Committees, including Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Commerce, and the Judiciary. Rabb has put forward bills that would enable courts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to use

restorative justice Restorative justice is a community-based approach to justice that aims to repair the harm done to victims, offenders and communities. In doing so, restorative justice practitioners work to ensure that offenders take responsibility for their ac ...

approaches to sentencing offenders, and introduced and passed bills in the Pennsylvania House to repeal the use of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

(House Bill 999). He In 2017, Rabb helped to found the Pennsylvania Climate Caucus. In 2024, Rabb introduced legislation to counter

greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called green sheen, is a form of advertising or marketing spin that deceptively uses green PR and green marketing to persuade the public that an organization's products, goals, or ...

, which is deceptive marketing that incorrectly suggests that a product is beneficial to the environment. According to the Center for Climate Integrity, the bill is the first of its type in the nation. On October 2, 2021, Rabb authored a memo to all members of the

indicating that he will be introducing legislation to enforce reproductive responsibility among men. According to the memo, the proposal would "require all inseminators to undergo vasectomies within 6 weeks from having their third child or 40th birthday, whichever comes first." Rabb's satirical memo draws attention to the double-standard of regulating women's bodies via legislation while the equivalent bill affecting men would seem absurd. Rabb called the memo "parody legislation". In 2023, Rabb introduced bills to allow independent voters to vote in Pennsylvania

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

s (HB 979) and to provide protections for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

consumers and businesses.

Personal life

Rabb has two sons and lives in East Mount Airy.

Awards

* 2019, Rising Environmental Leader award, The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL)

Published works

* ''Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity'' (2010)

References

External links

Profile at PA House websiteProfile at Project Vote Smart websiteProfile at Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabb, Chris 1970 births 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Living people Murphy family University of Pennsylvania alumni Yale University alumni 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly