WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia respectfully joins the loving family and many friends of Rotan Lee who passed unexpectedly from this earth on Monday, April 24, 2006; and
WHEREAS, His huge passion for life and his family, and an insatiable intellectual curiosity, were formed in the home of his late parents Dr. Rotan Lee and Bessie Hart Lee; and
WHEREAS, Rotan’s love of education and the inspiration he garnered from great authors such as James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison, and great lawyers and civil rights activists Cecil B. Moore and Sadie Alexander, served as an incubator for the constant challenge of achievement and giving that shaped his life; and
WHEREAS, Rotan Lee as a former member of the Marine Corps, and a graduate of Maryland State University, now the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, where he served as the president of the student body, and was a member of Beta Kappa Chi and Sigma Tau Delta. After college, Rotan obtained his law degree from Antioch Law School in Washington, DC; and
WHEREAS, His political and fundraising skills led to prominent positions within the Democratic National Committee, and various state and local campaigns; and
WHEREAS, In 1989, his public policy skills and concern for Philadelphia’s children led to his appointment as a member of the Philadelphia Board of Education and in 1992, he was elevated to the position of President; and
WHEREAS, Rotan was a prolific speaker and writer and used his words to educate and inspire the public through speeches around the city and nation, and in news columns touching on public policy issues of importance to citizens, and challenging people to think expansively through intellectual debates about issues of substance; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Lee wrote political columns for the Philadelphia Daily News, The Philadelphia Tribune and was heard on local talk radio station
WURD-AM (900).
He lectured at Cornell University and
Temple University School of Business Management
, and served as an adjunct professor at Temple University School of Education; and
WHEREAS, He embodied the belief that “it takes a village”. Although he was the patriarch of many, he leaves to take comfort in his memories of his wife, Grace, daughters, Hedy and Tara, and son Joey; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor the memory and mourn the passing of Rotan Lee; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Lee Family as a symbol of this legislative body’s gratitude for allowing us to share the life of Rotan Lee a person larger than life, who will be missed by all.
End