American minister, author, and columnist
Robert Wright Lee IV
is an American Protestant minister, activist, author, and newspaper columnist.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Lee was born and raised in
Statesville, North Carolina
, United States. He was baptized at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Statesville, and was raised in the
United Methodist
faith.
[1]
He completed his undergraduate studies at
Appalachian State University
in
Boone
, where he majored in
Appalachian studies
and
religious studies
.
[1]
In 2017, he received a Master of Theological Studies degree from
Duke Divinity School
in
Durham
.
[1]
While at Duke, Lee had an academic concentration in
practical theology
and
homiletics
.
[1]
In December 2023, Lee completed a Doctor of Ministry degree from
Pacific School of Religion
. His dissertation was on faith and the American presidency.
[1]
Through his father, Robert W. Lee III, Lee is a
direct lineal descendant
of
Robert Scothrup Lee
, a
Confederate States Army
veteran and farmer from
Butler County, Alabama
.
[2]
His great-great-great-great-grandfather,
William Lee
, was a pioneer in early Alabama politics, having served in the
Alabama State Legislature
and as a court judge after immigrating to the United States from England.
[2]
Although no evidence has been made available to the public, journalists who have been presented with Lee's private records have stated that Lee is a
collateral
descendant of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
[3]
In summer 2016, then an intern at
Edenton Street United Methodist Church
in
Raleigh, North Carolina
, Lee submitted an Op-Ed piece to the "Act of Faith" section of
The Washington Post.
In it, he wrote that he was "related to the
Lees of Virginia
."
[4]
The following summer, Lee appeared at the televised MTV Awards show at the LA Forum and announced that he was "a descendant of
Robert E. Lee
."
[5]
In 2019, he published a paperback autobiography in which he states that his grandmother, "Nana," told him when he was a child sitting on her knee: "See that painting over there, the one of General Lee on the horse? You are related to him, a nephew separated by many generations."
[6]
Since his appearance on the
MTV Video Music Awards
on August 27, 2017, he has become known for his efforts to "especially challenge white Christians in America to take seriously the deadly legacy of
slavery
."
[7]
Following a backlash from parishioners and others in the community after the appearance, Lee announced that he was stepping down from the pulpit of the
Bethany United Church of Christ
in Winston-Salem.
[8]
Activism
[
edit
]
On June 4, 2020, Lee was invited by Virginia governor
Ralph Northam
to speak at a televised press conference in support of Northam's desire to remove
Lee's equestrian statue
from
Monument Avenue
in Richmond. Northam introduced Lee with the statement that "we have been talking about his great-grandfather." Lee replied that he was Robert E. Lee's nephew, "so many greats removed of course." Lee explained his stance on removal of the statue, stating that while there are more important things to address than statues, "the monument has become an idol for many to the
Lost Cause
."
[9]
[10]
On June 7, 2020, Lee published an opinion piece in
The Washington Post
calling for the replacement of the mythology of the Lost Cause.
[11]
On July 21, 2020, Lee testified before a House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands in regards to a statue of Robert E. Lee.
[12]
Investigation by media
[
edit
]
On May 14, 2021,
The Washington Post
"Fact Checker" examined historical and genealogical records and determined that Lee is the direct descendant of Confederate Private
Robert S. Lee
of Alabama, and further concluded "the pastor should not state he is related to Robert E. Lee, especially in legal filings ? and news organizations should not echo this claim." Their conclusions were based on finding no evidence the Lee is a direct descendant of
Robert E. Lee
's older brother,
Charles Carter Lee
, stating that Lee had made this claim when appearing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in January 2020, and not on analysis of his other paternal lines, or any of his maternal lines.
[13]
On February 1, 2022, CNN cited an
Axios
report which stated that Lee was in fact a "a close and multiple cousin" of General Robert E. Lee.
[14]
The report linking Lee to Charles Carter Lee directly was originally published in the
Tulsa World
on January 17, 2020, before Lee's event there. It stated that Lee was a direct descendant of Charles Carter Lee, but did not quote or attribute this to Lee.
[15]
On November 16, 2021, the
Tulsa World
corrected its article to remove the reference to a direct descendancy of Lee from Charles Carter Lee as its error and noted that Lee does not make this claim.
[16]
On February 1, 2022, it was reported that Lee was in fact a collateral descendant of General Robert E. Lee, not direct.
[14]
Despite the claim by Axios that Lee has never claimed a direct descendancy from the Confederate General,
[17]
he did so on national television during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards on August 8, 2017, stating "I’m a descendant of Robert E. Lee", and also referring to Robert E. Lee as "my ancestor."
[18]
Published works
[
edit
]
- Stained Glass Millennials was published by Smyth and Helwys Publishing in 2017 and included a foreword by
United Methodist
Bishop
William H. Willimon
- A Sin by Any Other Name: Reckoning with Racism and the Heritage of the South was published by
Convergent Books
in 2019 with a foreword by
Bernice A. King
- The Pulpit and the Paper: A Pastor's Coming of Age in Newsprint was published by Smyth and Helwys Publishing in 2020 and features a foreword by
Chelsea Clinton
.
- Fostering Hope: A Prayerbook for Foster and Adoptive Families, published in 2022 by Smyth and Helwys Publishing with a foreword by
Chanequa Walker-Barnes
.
- Night Owl Prayers: A Prayerbook was published in 2024 by Smyth and Helwys Publishing and has a foreword by Gary R. Hall.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"About"
.
The Reverend Robert Wright Lee, IV
. Retrieved
February 3,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Kessler, Glenn (May 15, 2021).
"Fact checker finds no link between NC activist, Robert E. Lee"
.
The Washington Post
. Archived from
the original
on May 15, 2021
. Retrieved
February 3,
2022
– via
The News & Observer
.
- ^
Brown, Maya (February 1, 2022).
"Robert E. Lee's descendant proves his lineage and pushes for 'honest' history of racism"
.
CNN
. Retrieved
May 13,
2024
.
- ^
Quillin, Martha (November 30, 2017).
"Rev. Rob Lee, relative of Robert E. Lee, will publish book about white supremacy in the South"
.
The News & Observer
. Archived from
the original
on November 30, 2017
. Retrieved
February 3,
2022
.
- ^
Quillin, Martha (August 28, 2017).
"Robert E. Lee's relative finds bigger pulpit: MTV's VMAs"
.
The News & Observer
.
Archived
from the original on September 1, 2017
. Retrieved
August 12,
2020
.
- ^
Lee, Robert W. (April 2, 2019).
A Sin by Any Other Name
. Crown Publishing. pp. 31?32.
ISBN
978-0525576389
. Retrieved
August 12,
2020
.
- ^
McLaughlin, Eliott C. (September 5, 2017).
"Gen. Robert E. Lee descendant leaves pulpit after backlash"
.
CNN
.
- ^
"US pastor quits after denouncing racism"
.
BBC News
. September 5, 2017
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
.
- ^
Stewart, Caleb (June 4, 2020).
"Gov. Northam announces Richmond's Robert E. Lee statue will be removed 'as soon as possible'
"
.
WHSV-TV
. Retrieved
August 12,
2020
.
- ^
"Gov. Ralph Northam Announces Removal of Robert E. Lee Statue"
.
Rev.com
. June 4, 2020
. Retrieved
August 12,
2020
.
- ^
Lee, Robert W. IV (June 7, 2020).
"Opinion | Robert E. Lee is my ancestor. Take down his statue, and let his cause be lost"
.
The Washington Post
.
- ^
"The Testimony of the Reverend Robert W. Lee, IV Before the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee of The United States House of Representatives"
(PDF)
.
congress.gov
. July 21, 2020.
- ^
Kessler, Glenn (May 14, 2021).
"This man says he's related to Robert E. Lee. There's no evidence"
.
The Washington Post
.
- ^
a
b
Brown, Marya (February 1, 2022).
"Robert E. Lee's descendant proves his lineage and pushes for 'honest' history of racism"
.
CNN
.
- ^
Stanley, Tim (January 17, 2020).
"Descendant of Robert E. Lee's brother to talk about race, reconciliation at Tulsa church"
.
Tulsa World
. Archived from
the original
on May 14, 2021.
- ^
Stanley, Tim (January 17, 2020).
"Descendant of Robert E. Lee to talk about race, reconciliation at Tulsa church"
.
Tulsa World
.
- ^
Contreras, Russell (January 23, 2022).
"Activist pushes back on claims he's not kin to Robert E. Lee"
.
Axios.com
.
- ^
"Robert Wright Lee IV denounces white supremacy at VMAs"
.
YouTube.com
. October 25, 2017.