RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A descendant of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has stepped down as pastor of a North Carolina church after negative reactions to his comments supporting racial justice during an MTV awards show.
The general’s distant nephew, the Rev. Robert W. Lee IV, issued a statement this week saying he resigned from Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem after the congregation decided to put his tenure to a vote.
He said some church members were uncomfortable with his remarks praising the Black Lives Matter movement during the Aug. 27 MTV Video Music Awards. He was introducing the mother of Heather Heyer, who was killed during demonstrations over a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Lee also used the televised remarks to lament that his ancestor has become a symbol of racism.
“We have made my ancestor an idol of white supremacy, racism, and hate,” he said. “As a pastor, it is my moral duty to speak out against racism, America’s original sin.”