Tulante himself is an immigrant. He and his family came to Philadelphia from what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo when he was 8. The Tualntes were refugees fleeing a regime that had held Tulante's father as a political prisoner. Tulante grew up in North Philadelphia, attended Philadelphia public schools, and earned degrees from Harvard University and its law school. He worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for six years before taking the city solicitor job.