Councilmember Rue Landau Believes in Lifting as She Leads

When Councilmember Rue Landau, LAW ’98, and her identical twin sister, Suzanne Landau, TFM ’92, were looking at colleges in the Philadelphia region, they knew that they didn’t want to be too far from one another. Rue’s sister chose Temple, while Rue attended the University of Delaware. Less than a decade later, however, Rue would find her own way to Temple as a student at the Beasley School of Law. Still, Rue ended up visiting Temple with some regularity—to visit her sister, yes, and to exploit a certain privilege of having an identical twin: Whenever a book she needed was not available at Delaware’s library, she would simply use her sister’s ID to look for it at Temple.

“I always returned the books on time,” Rue said. “I promise.”

Councilmember Rue Landau on the campaign trail. (Photo courtesy of Rue for Philly)

After graduating in 1991, Rue returned to Philly and soon after that came out as gay during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Rue, who had been quite the activist even in college, became involved with ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). “We were still deep in the crisis because of the federal government not funding drug trials and making drugs available,” she explained. “They were absolutely ignoring people who were getting this disease that was a death sentence for them.”

One of the major issues at the time was a lack of information: There wasn’t enough information about HIV and AIDS, and much of the information that did exist was not reaching those who needed it most. “We in Philly did what a lot of other localities did,” Rue explained. “We organized, came together and started sharing that information among ourselves. We wanted to make sure that we filled in all the gaps that the federal government was failing to fill.” Many organizations that still exist today in Philly emerged from that struggle, including Philadelphia FIGHT and Galaei.

Councilmember Rue Landau and her team in front of City Hall. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia City Council)

Councilmember Rue Landau and her team in front of City Hall. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia City Council)

Rue Landau (lower right corner wearing a baseball cap) protesting with Kensington Welfare Rights Union in the 90s. Gloria Casarez, Philadelphia's first director of LGBTQ+ affairs, is in the lower left corner. (Photo courtesy of Rue for Philly)

Rue Landau (lower right corner wearing a baseball cap) protesting with Kensington Welfare Rights Union in the 90s. Gloria Casarez, Philadelphia's first director of LGBTQ+ affairs, is in the lower left corner. (Photo courtesy of Rue for Philly)

During this period, Rue also began fighting for safe and affordable housing for Philadelphians. She began working with Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU), an advocacy group run by and for poor and homeless Philadelphians. One of the group’s tactics for drawing attention to the need for affordable housing in the city was to construct tent cities on empty lots. “KWRU would just take over pieces of land,” Rue said, “and say: Why can’t you build houses here for us?”

Working in these tent cities, Rue met lawyers from Community Legal Services (CLS), an organization that provides free legal advice and representation to low-income residents. “That was an eye-opening experience for me,” Rue said. “I saw that I could both make a career out of fighting injustices and helping Philadelphians improve their quality of life.”

Rue enrolled at Temple Law with the goal of becoming a public interest lawyer and joining CLS. Her years of hands-on experience in the field grounded her studies and gave her countless connections.

“I will never forget the day I was in Temple Law School’s lobby, reading and preparing for my next class, and one of the Community Legal Services lawyers walked through the lobby because her side job was teaching legal writing at Temple. We knew each other from the tent city. She looked at me and said, ‘Come work for us this summer.’”

After graduation, Rue worked with Community Legal Services for a decade before Mayor Michael Nutter appointed her as the executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and the Fair Housing Commission in 2008. Mayor Jim Kenney reappointed her to those roles in 2016.

Councilmember Rue Landau. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia City Council)

Councilmember Rue Landau. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia City Council)

Mayor Cherelle Parker's inauguration. Rue Landau is seated in the front row to Mayor Parker's right. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia City Council)

Mayor Cherelle Parker's inauguration. Rue Landau is seated in the front row to Mayor Parker's right. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia City Council)

During that time, Rue returned to the Beasley School of Law numerous times to assist with classes and events. She remembers joining Professor Nancy J. Knauer’s class, Political and Civil Rights, about once a year. “I talked about my career, about the relationship between law and justice. I loved hearing about the projects that the students were working on. I always said yes.”

Rue was pleased to find that Temple had significantly expanded its public interest law program. When she was a student at the law school, she was one of the only people pursuing public interest law. Now, Temple has come to serve exactly the type of student Rue was back then. “I am just so impressed with how Temple has built this program so that people intentionally go to Temple Law to serve in the public interest in some way. It’s really a great pipeline for the lawyers that we need right now.”

Rue Landau speaks to students at Temple's Beasley School of Law.

That experience prepared her for when she joined the faculty as the Beck Chair in 2020 and was able to teach a class of her own. The class was remote because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That was a challenge for Rue—“I’m a people person,” she explained, “and so I like to be in a room full of people”—but she learned quite a bit in the process.

“It was a great experience,” Rue said of the class. “I really got to dive deep into the history of poverty and the lack of affordable housing here in Philadelphia and why we are in the situation we’re in now.”

Rue with her wife, Kerry Smith, and their son, Eli. Rue and Kerry were the first same-sex couple in PA to receive their marriage license when it became legal in 2014. (Photo courtesy of Rue for Philly)

Those issues remain central to her work today as a member of city council. She is also the first openly LGBTQ+ councilmember, though she intends to just be the first of many. “I’m so honored and privileged to smash the glass ceiling,” Rue said. “And while I am the first, I wholeheartedly will not be the last. I strongly believe in lifting as you lead, and the door is wide open. I can’t wait for many more to join me on council, including expanding our LGBTQ+ presence in every aspect of our community.”

Rue still finds time to visit Temple. She recently returned for a career day and found herself inspired by the conversations she had with students, many of whom reminded her of her own aspirations when she first arrived at Temple Law.

“I love Temple Law so much,” Rue said. “I want to come back often.”