Robert W. Lee IV

In the summer of 2016, then an intern at a Methodist Church in Raleigh North Carolina, Rev. 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." The following summer, Rev. Lee appeared at the televised MTV Awards show at the LA Forum and announced that he was "a descendant of Robert E. Lee."[2] 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." [3] Since his appearance on MTV, He has become known for his efforts to "especially challenge white Christians in America to take seriously the deadly legacy of slavery." MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2017.[4] 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.[5] The church issued a statement saying that Lee was not asked to leave, and that church leaders were unaware the problem existed.[6]

In June 2020, Reverend 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 Ave in Richmond. Governor 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." [7][8]

On June 7, 2020, Lee published an opinion piece in the Washington Post calling for the replacement of the mythology of the "Lost Cause" of the Civil War.[9]