Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV (c. 1993- ), also known as Rob Lee, is a White American pastor who wants the statues of Confederate generals to come down, even those of his great-great-great-great uncle, Robert E. Lee.
The movement to take down Confederate statues started in the wake of the Charleston Massacre in 2015. These are statues of men who fought against the US government to keep 4 million Black people as slaves. Some consider them heroes. Last month, August 2017, protests for and against a statue of Robert E, Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia led to a riot.
At the VMAs (MTV Video Music Awards), Lee said:
“My name is Robert Lee IV, I’m a descendant of Robert E. Lee, the Civil War general whose statue was at the center of violence in Charlottesville. We have made my ancestor an idol of white supremacy, racism, and hate. As a pastor, it is my moral duty to speak out against racism, America’s original sin.
“Today, I call on all of us with privilege and power to answer God’s call to confront racism and white supremacy head-on. We can find inspiration in the Black Lives Matter movement, the women who marched in the Women’s March in January, and, especially, Heather Heyer, who died fighting for her beliefs in Charlottesville.”
Thus breaking the Third Commandment of Whiteness: Thou shalt not rock the boat.
That led to threats of violence against himself, his family and his church, Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (pictured below). It also led his church to consider whether to fire him.
He offered his resignation:
“I regret that speaking out has caused concern and pain to my church. For this is I offer my heartfelt apology. I understand that my views could be considered to be controversial. I never sought this sort of attention. But, I do believe in God’s role in calling out for positive social change for the good of all.
“We are all called by God to speak out against hate and evil in all its many forms. There are so many good things going on with this congregation and I do not want my fight to detract from the mission. If the recent media attention causes concern with my church, I reluctantly offer my resignation.”
They accepted. Lee, fresh out of Duke Divinity School, had been pastor there only since April.
White American churches often speak out against the evils of, say, abortion or same-sex marriage, but it is rare for them to speak out against racism. That is true even of those churches that believe in creationism as the literal meaning of Genesis 1 – the very same chapter of the Bible that says God created man in his own image, meaning not just White people, but Black people too.
The cause of that moral blindness you can see at work here: many church congregations in the US hire and fire pastors of their own choosing, creating an echo chamber.
– Abagond, 2017.
Sources: mainly Google images (images) , NPR, NewsOne (video), and his blog post at Auburn Seminary.
See also:
- Charleston Massacre
- Charlottesville riot
- Confederate statues
- Confederate flag
- Black Lives Matter
- The Commandments of Whiteness
- L’Oreal – another example of speaking out against racism
- Rev. Jeremiah Wright – also of the United Church of Christ
551
Bravo to the Rev. Robert Lee IV for standing for what’s not popular, but what’s right!
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Much respect to this gentleman for standing up and speaking out against the evil system of white supremacy.
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The fact that his church didn’t stand with him speaks volumes everyone who attends church and sits on a pew does not a Christian make. Rev. Robert Lee IV has shown great courage i have so much respect and admiration for him. Peace and blessings be upon him.
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Quite a few white people in and out of church believe that black people are a separate species, which gets them around that pesky “human” thing and all.
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How mentally messed up white supremacy has these people is alarming.
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Where are the rest of the white pastors and preachers and so called evangelicals that say they are following Jesus teachings and love him? Why are they not speaking out.?
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@Mary Burrell
Protecting themselves. All that love stuff is lip service. I recent had a man online say he is racist because he wants whites to stay in power. He felt Obama took power from him and he feared that blacks with power would take everything from whites.
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White folks got to clean up what they themselves messed up. They created this system that oppresses black peoples and they benefit and have privilege from. So all those whites that stay silent need to know their silence is violence.
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Wow! This shows that white supremacy negates white accountability. A white man speaks out against a problem that harms even white people, and other white people lash out and wants his head. The pathology is frightening.
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It will be interesting if any of the church members leave the congregation following Lee’s suite.
Robert E Lee must be rolling in his grave!
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It is because of the existence of White people like this pastor and Heather Heyer that I deeply believe that a pogrom or genocide of minorities in America is not in sight.
Despite the comfort of their privileges, they were able to give up something to not lose their humanity. Lee give up, to a certain extent, his social backup. Heyer gave the ultimate sacrifice: her life.
I have seen people like this in Southern Africa during our battles against the inhumanity of Apartheid. And even recognizing their imperfections I realize that it is because of humans like these that I can’t give up my hope in the human kind. Not yet.
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Only a person with absolutely no sense of his roots would insult his own ancestor.
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Only a person with absolutely no conscience would support the continuation of white supremacy in America just because his ancestor once fought to defend it.
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@ Michelle
Well said.
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Robert Lee IV clearly understands his roots and exposed that wound.
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@Michelle: Excellent clap back.
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LMAO. This guy is catching hell from his own people for rocking the boat. Just goes to show what a hive mind they are and how much they project onto us.
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@ Peter
You must understand that these statues actually do not depict General Lee. Nor do they depict fallen beloved family members of those who once lived in the Confederacy.
Actually, they just depict big White middle fingers, which are pointed at Blacks.
If you realize that, you might understand Robert Wright Lee IV’s point about ‘white supremacy, racism, and hate,’ and his stance on those statues.
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He is a traitor to his ancestors. I honor mine.
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