RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A descendant of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee says he stepped down as pastor of a North Carolina church after negative reactions to his comments supporting racial justice during an MTV awards show “made it clear that I was no longer welcome there.”
The general’s distant nephew, the Rev. Robert W. Lee IV, issued a statementMonday saying he resigned from Bethany United Church of Christ near 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.”