Christopher M. Rabb (born February 21, 1970) is an American politician, professor, and author. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, 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), in the process Rabb also learned he was a descendant of

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great B ...

. 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 a former U.S. Senator, an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Prior to her Senate ...

. He then worked for the Clinton administration in the 1995

White House Conference on Small Business The White House Conference on Small Business was a series of three conferences that occurred in 1980, 1986, and 1995. They were convened by presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III ...

. 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 state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

. 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 Tonyelle Cook-Artis is an American politician and government agency executive from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Currently the director of government relations and grants administration for the Delaware River Port Authority in Philadelphia, ...

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.

Vasectomy memo

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 cisgender men would seem absurd. Rabb called the memo "parody legislation".

Committees

* Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Democratic Vice Chair * Commerce, Subcommittee on Financial Services and Banking - Democratic Chair * Finance, Democratic Secretary * Judiciary

Personal life

Rabb has two sons and lives in East Mount Airy.

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 people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century 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