Lee, Barbara, 1946-

LEE, Barbara, a Representative from California; born in El Paso, El Paso County, Tex., July 16, 1946; graduated from San Fernando High School, San Fernando, Calif., 1964; B.A., Mills College, Oakland, Calif., 1973; M.S.W., University of California, Berkeley, Calif., 1975; staff, United States Representative Ronald V. Dellums of California, 1975-1987; member of the California state assembly, 1991-1997; member of the California state senate, 1997-1998; business owner; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Fifth Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative Ron Dellums, and reelected to the twelve succeeding Congresses (April 7, 1998-present).

<p>U.S. Congresswoman Honorable Barbara Lee was born on July 16, 1946 in El Paso, Texas. Her biological father, James Lewis, was a veteran of the Korean War; her mother, Mildred Massey, a clerk. In 1960, Lee’s family moved to the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. As a teenager, she immersed herself in music and won two music achievement awards from the Rotary Club and the Bank of America. Lee graduated from San Fernando High School in 1964. She worked for one year in the California Department of Labor Statistics, and then went on to receive her B.A. degree in psychology from Mills College in 1973 and her M.A. degree in social work from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975.</p>

<p>Upon graduation, Lee worked for Congressman Ronald V. Dellums after serving as a legislative intern there during graduate school. While there, she managed Congressman Dellums’ offices in Washington, D.C. and Oakland, California for eleven years and eventually rose to the position of senior adviser. In 1990, Lee was elected to the California State Assembly; and, in 1996, she was elected to the California State Senate. As a Democrat, she worked successfully with California’s Republican administration in those years and sponsored sixty-seven bills that were signed into law by then-Republican Governor Pete Wilson. Lee’s political agenda focused on issues such as education, public safety, environmental protection, health, labor, and women’s rights. In 1998, she became the first woman to represent the State of California’s then-9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2009 to 2011. She was later elected as the first woman to represent the California’s now-13th Congressional District in 2013. Lee also published a memoir, <i>Renegade for Peace and Justice: A Memoir of Political and Personal Courage</i> (2008).</p>

<p>Lee’s honors and distinctions include receiving the Dean’s Appreciation Award from the University of California at Berkeley School of Social Welfare, and the Willie L. Brown, Jr., Leadership Award, both in 2001. Lee was also nominated for the Alfred R. Nobel Peace Prize. In 2009, The National Urban League honored her with the Congressional Leadership Award; and, in 2012, she received the Lifetime Legacy Achievement Award from the United Nations Association. Lee is the mother of two sons, Tony Lee and Craig Lee. </p>

<p>Barbara Jean Lee (née Tutt; born July 16, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 13th congressional district. Now in her 12th congressional term, Lee has served since 1998, and is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 9th district from 1998 to 2013, is based in Oakland and covers most of the northern part of Alameda County.</p>

<p>Lee is a former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (2009–2011) and the Chair Emeritus and former Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (2005–2009). She is the Vice Chair and a founding member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Lee has played a major role in the antiwar movement, notable for her vocal criticism of the Iraq War and for being the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization of use of force following the September 11 attacks.</p>

<p>Lee was born Barbara Jean Tutt in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Mildred Adaire (née Parish) and Garvin Alexander Tutt, a lieutenant colonel. Lee is African-American, and according to a DNA analysis, she descends primarily from the people of Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. She moved from Texas to California in 1960 with her military family parents, and attended San Fernando High School in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles. Lee was a young single mother of two receiving public assistance when she began attending Mills College. She received an MSW from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1975.</p>