Robert E. Lee family member tells Congress statues ‘must be removed’

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Robert E. Lee family member tells Congress statues 'must be removed'

Descendant of General Robert E. Lee testifies before congress on the removal of statues considered racist.

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands on Tuesday held a hearing on what to do about Confederate monuments -- and one particularly strong voice in favor of removing them was none other than a family member of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV, a nephew of the Confederate leader, said his decision to speak out on the issue came in part out of a sense of “redemption” for his family’s past.

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“It involved redemption, and reconciliation, and even reparation and acknowledging that for me, this isn’t about me,” Lee said in response to a question from Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif. “I’m a white dude. I can walk by these statues and not feel a thing, and that’s actually really dangerous in this current climate -- that I as a person who can just walk by this statue and not feel a thing, whereas someone who is in my community can walk by on the way to vote and see a Confederate statue and still experience such hatred, and violence, and oppression.”

In a prepared statement, Lee noted that he by no means speaks for his entire family, as some still hold the general in high regard. But he noted that Robert E. Lee did more than lead an army against the Union. He also went before Congress and expressed that he believes Black people are inferior, stating that he did not think Black people could gain knowledge as well as Whites, and should not be allowed to vote.

The younger Lee mentioned those comments to contrast them with his own point of view.

“I fully believe along with a host of other amazing citizens of this great country that Black lives matter,” he said, “and for us to continue to celebrate a man who questioned the education, disparaged the right to vote of Black life, and had previously fought for the continued enslavement of Africans on the North American continent is an affront to those now suffering under the continued weight of oppression.”

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The hearing came about as a result of a bill dealing with a statue of Robert E. Lee at the Antietam National Battlefield. Lee said that allowing it to stay would equal “complicity” with what it represents.

“We cannot remain complicit with these monuments,” he said. “We cannot remain silent any more, if we do, our silence becomes agreement and endorsement to complicity. This statue at Antietam that this bill represents and statues everywhere must be removed for a more perfect Union—which is inclusive of a better tomorrow.”

Another issue that came up is whether places named after Confederate figures should be changed. Huffman referred to a city in California called Fort Bragg that was named before the Civil War and that has no connection to the war, but was merely named “on a historic lark,” after the military figure who had previously fought for the U.S. in the Mexican-American War.

Huffman noted that while the people currently living there harbor no sentiment toward Braxton Bragg, they do have an emotional connection to the area and its history. Lee said that such feelings should not hinder progress.

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“We should want to change things and not be complicit through our nostalgia,” he said, pointing to a common Southern idea of “it’s always been that way, we can’t change it.” Lee rejected that idea, insisting that “we have to have this conversation now.”

President Trump has taken an opposing stance on renaming places, particularly U.S. military installations such as Fort Bragg, N.C., which was used in both World Wars. Trump has even hinted that he would veto an upcoming National Defense Authorization Act if it called for renaming such sites.