Recognizing and celebrating Queen Judith Robinson for her tireless advocacy, insistence on being heard, and for her work to amplify voices of communities in North Philadelphia for the benefit of the entire City of Philadelphia, on the occasion of Black History Month.

WHEREAS, Queen Judith Robinson was born September 1956 in Strawberry Mansion. She now lives in North Central Philadelphia. Coming from the Hebrew Israelite tradition, Queen Judith grew up not voting as a rule. But when her Simon Gratz peers voted for her to be Senior Class President, Queen Judith realized the obligation she felt to help her peers and to engage with her communities. Although she never had money, she knew she could work hard to make things happen. And when Charles Bowser ran for Philadelphia Mayor in 1975, Queen Judith registered herself to vote; and

WHEREAS, She increasingly understood that active citizenship is a critical pillar of democracy. Queen Judith became a Block Captain, and more recently seven years ago joined her Ward as a Committee Person. Although she is often asked about running for office, she has always been content being a citizen and recognized it as the most important position one can have; and

WHEREAS, Queen Judith initially attended college at Pratt Institute for Design in New York City. But she realized that she did not love New York City and its fashion industry - so Queen Judith decided to come back to Philadelphia and got her associate’s degree from Tracey Warner School of Fashion Design and had just enough money to take two real estate courses at Community College in 1984. Those courses changed her life: she started selling real estate, has been in the business for 40 years, and became a broker 35 years ago, including starting her own company in 1992; and

WHEREAS, Marrying her real estate expertise to her sense of civic duty, Queen Judith has attended Philadelphia Housing Authority meetings, redevelopment and planning meetings, and City Council sessions for decades. She has provided her expertise, publicly commented on, and engaged at every possible opportunity. Council President Anna Verna once told Queen Judith that she had spoken before Council more than anyone else Verner could remember and gave Queen Judith a letter encouraging her engagement. She has carried the spirit and the letter forward to today, including recently advocating against the Sixers relocation from South Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, In a long history of activism, Queen Judith would like to thank her mother, Clementine Robinson, and the family and students from Simon Gratz who had confidence in her when she was 18, as well as her fourth grade teachers Ms. Graves and Mr. Goldstein from McIntyre Elementary. She is grateful for her community in North Philadelphia, and for the Tanner House Project for which she is a Founding Member. In her years of doing the work, Queen Judith has found the best path forward relies on more citizens making their voices heard, and continues supporting efforts to amplify citizens’ voices; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby recognizes and celebrates Queen Judith Robinson for her tireless advocacy, insistence on being heard, and for her work to amplify the voices of communities in North Philadelphia for the benefit of the entire City of Philadelphia, on the occasion of Black History Month.

FURTHER RESOLVED,

That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Queen Judith Robinson

as an expression of the gratitude and admiration of the Council of the City of Philadelphia.

End