Reverend Robert Wright Lee IV of the Bethany United Church of Christ has stepped down after calling out white supremacy in wake of the violent unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In a detailed letter about his departure, Lee wrote that some of his congregation did not want the attention Lee has recently brought to the North Carolina church.
The bone of contention was the pastor's speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in August, that "lifted up the Black Lives Matter movement, the Women’s March and Heather Heyer as examples of racial justice work."
In the letter, Lee wrote, "I want to stress that there were many in the congregation who supported my right to free speech, yet, were uncomfortable with the attention the church was receiving. The church’s reaction was deeply hurtful to me."
Not only did Lee call out racism, he came out in support of the removal of Confederate monuments around the country. During a speech at the 2017 VMAs, Lee proclaimed in front of millions that statues of his ancestor, Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and of other Confederate figures, have become symbols of white supremacy.
In his speech he 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.”
The fact that questions over the removal of a statue ancestor were at the center of the unrest and violence in Charlottesville inspired him to speak out in the first place.
While Lee is disappointed that he had to step down, he wrote that he will continue to fight against white supremacy and systematic oppression in all of its various forms.
"My calling and my vocation have led me to speak out against violence and oppression in any form," he wrote. "And I want to especially challenge white Christians in America to take seriously the deadly legacy of slavery in our country and commit ourselves to follow Jesus into a time of deep reflection, repentance and reconciliation."
