James R. Roebuck Jr.

James Randolph Roebuck Jr. (February 12, 1945 – May 15, 2024) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 188th District from 1985 to 2020.

Biography Roebuck was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School in 1963. He earned a bachelor's degree from Virginia Union University in 1966, followed by a Master's degree (1969) and Ph.D. (1977) from the University of Virginia. In 1969, he became the first African American president of the UVA Student Council.

Roebuck served as a lecturer (1970-1977) and assistant professor (1977-1984) of history at Drexel University. He then worked as a legislative assistant to Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode (1984-1985).

Following the death of James D. Williams, Roebuck won a special election on May 21, 1985 to represent the West Philadelphia-based 188th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was sworn-in on June 3, 1985 and subsequently reelected for 17 more terms, serving for 35 years. During his time in office, Roebuck was the Democratic chairman of the House Education Committee and a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.

In June 2020, Roebuck was defeated in the Democratic primary by Rick Krajewski.