Robert E. Lee’s descendant proves his genealogy and pushes for an ‘honest’ history of racism

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He proved them wrong with a 400-page genealogy report he received in October, but the North Carolina pastor and social justice advocate says the accusations have distracted from the difficult conversations Americans have to have on the story.

“I believe it was an attempt to discredit the hard work I put into removing the statues and monuments of my ancestor,” Lee told CNN last week.

In 2018, rumors started spreading online that the pastor was lying about his lineage because his beliefs contrasted with what some say the general stood for. The general is considered a Confederate hero and symbol by apologists, and some say his descendant’s criticism of monuments and statues honoring him must mean he is unrelated, according to Lee. Despite his namesake, Reverend Lee has publicly condemned his ancestor’s “sins” and has spoken out against racism since 2016.

Lee began making several public appearances claiming he was a descendant of Robert E. Lee, including a 2017 speech at the MTV Video Music Awards. During the awards presentation, Lee made a statement against the violence that occurred at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. In 2019, he wrote “A Sin by Another Name,” which tells his story of growing up tied to a Confederate general. He also lobbied for the removal of Confederate monuments, including the Richmond statue of Robert E. Lee, which was removed in September of last year.

About a month ago, the city of Richmond also voted to melt down the statue to create artwork for the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. Lee supports the decision to melt it down and believes it will lead to new opportunities to showcase the story.

“I never thought in my lifetime that I would see Richmond and Charlottesville get rid of their statues,” Reverend Lee told CNN. “They are idols of white supremacy and symbols of racism and hatred. And for me as a Christian, and for many other religions, we cannot have idols in our public square. just not what we’re trying to do as a community, as a state, as a commonwealth or as a nation.”

The fight for an “honest education”

Last July, Lee hired a genealogist to confirm what he always knew: he is a close and multiple cousin of Robert E. Lee and his wife, Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee. A recent Washington Post fact check falsely stated there was no evidence he was a relative, but that has since been corrected.

Lee says it was frustrating when people didn’t believe him. About two years ago, shortly after MTV’s speech, Lee said he found gun casings outside his house. He immediately worried for his life.

“It was not a game for fame or fortune, but an attempt to be honest about my lineage and therefore to be trustworthy as an activist and public theologian,” he said. declared.

Weeks after proving he was a descendant of Robert E. Lee, the pastor remains determined to heed the story. The controversy over his lineage comes as lawmakers in several states continue to restrict what is taught about race and American history.

Reverend Lee thinks the story of Robert E. Lee should be taught in schools in an “honest” way. He wants the education system to teach about his role in the Civil War, but not make him a man that children should “vacuum”.

Reverend Lee likens this honest education to critical race theory — a concept that seeks to understand and address how inequality and systemic racism are part of American society.

The term has also become politicized by its critics as a threat to the American way of life and a topic of debate – especially in the South and Midwest. In Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin has set up a hotline for parents to report teachers who discuss “dividing topics”. He also banned critical race theory, which is not taught in the K-12 curriculum – earlier this month. In Florida, a state Senate committee has proposed legislation to stop public schools and private companies from making people feel “uncomfortable” when being taught about race.

In a recent survey of more than 48,000 statues, plaques, parks and obelisks across the country, Lee is the sixth most represented historical figure in the American memorial landscape, according to the Monument Lab’s National Monuments Audit.

“We can’t have this hole in our armor, just because we think we have to establish it for the past,” Reverend Lee said. “We have to be honest with our past, just like I was trying to be honest with my own reality.”

A personal balance sheet

Growing up, 12-year-old Lee was heavily involved in the church and developed a close relationship with his religious training mentor, Bertha Hamilton, who also happened to be a black woman. He considered her a second grandmother and she constantly visited the house.

During one of her visits, she walked into Lee’s bedroom and noticed a symbol she believed went against gospel values ​​– a Confederate flag.

“She knew I was called, and she believed I was called to ministry, but she thought that because I had a hate sign hanging in my room, there was no way I could be in. accord with the gospel,” said the Rev. Lee. “It took strength and courage for a black woman to stand up to a man named Robert Lee and tell him that the symbol of his heritage, at the time, was wrong and inappropriate.”

She questioned her character and made Lee realize that being related to Robert E. Lee was not something he could be proud of.

But it was something he had always felt he should be proud of. Reverend Lee recalls sitting on his grandmother’s lap as a young boy and being told that he and his younger brother were related to the Confederate general. At first, they both admired General Lee. They saw him as a hero.

Once their opinions started to change, Lee says their parents were open and willing to discuss things.

“This whole lost cause mentality started seeping into my life,” he said. “It then became a point of looking back and trying to figure out what the point of it all is? Why are we celebrating this man who enslaved people and fought for the continued enslavement of black people on this continent ?”

Dispelling the Lost Cause Myth

Ty Seidule is a retired U.S. Army general, history professor at West Point, and the author of “Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause,” which is about his own personal calculation with the idolatry of the Confederate general. and the myths of the lost cause – the ideology that the cause of the Civil War was not centered on slavery. He says he admires and respects Reverend Lee for challenging those beliefs.

“I fully support his mission and his willingness to engage in a difficult story. If someone was born with the name Robert Lee, there are a few options. Embrace what he stood for, remain silent, or speak out publicly. Lee’s values.” Seidule told CNN. “Rob has publicly stated that Lee fought for white supremacy. He disavowed the lost cause and worked for the truth. I look to Rob as a role model.”

Seidule and Reverend Lee believe Southern culture also contributed to their initial thoughts about the General.

Growing up in Virginia, Seidule said the word gentlemen only referred to white men. He also said he was constantly surrounded by white political power which included idolatry of Lee and Confederate monuments in front of courthouses.

“It was all about supporting and defending white political power at the expense of black people,” he told CNN.

“If we don’t criticize what we’ve learned, we’ll never grow up, and if we’re not uncomfortable with the past, we’re either ignorant or naive,” Seidule told CNN. “We should feel uncomfortable as white people with the pain we have caused and work to ensure systems of oppression do not continue into the future.”

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