There is an extraordinary column in the Washington Post from Glenn Kessler on a key figures in past coverage on the removal of Confederate statues.
The Post ran a widely cited article on how Robert E. Lee’s own descendant wanted the general’s statues to be removed.
The problem is that no one at the Post appears to have actually checked to see if Rev. Robert W. Lee was an actual descendant. It now appears that he is not, according to Kessler. While Kessler strangely does not believe this wants his signature “Pinocchios,” he should be credited for doing something that no one in the media seemed inclined to do: confirm the story, even belatedly.
Pastor’s claim to Gen. Robert E. Lee ancestry debunked by Washington Post
Updated 12:07 PM;
Today 11:19 AM
Pastor Rob Lee, who spoke in Birmingham in 2018 denouncing the city s Confederate monument, has had his ancestry claim debunked by The Washington Post. He claimed he was a descendant of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee s brother, including at this appearance at First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. (Photo by Greg Garrison/AL.com)
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The Rev. Rob Lee, who spoke out against Birmingham’s Confederate monument in 2018 while claiming to be a relative of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, is not related to the general, The Washington Post has reported.
A Muslim American college student said he had fought back tears when he saw the image of a Trump supporter carrying the Confederate battle flag through the halls of the Capitol on Wednesday.A Black Senate aide who for years has walked confidently through the halls of Congress said his feelings of safety had crumbled when he saw the photo.And a Black historian said she had immediately thought of James Byrd, the Black Texas man who was dragged to death by white supremacists in a pickup truck in 1998.Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York TimesThe historian, Mary Frances Berry, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, said she had felt "disgust" and recalled "wanting to scream.""To see it flaunted right in front of your face, in the United States Capitol, the heart of the government, was simply outrageous," she said.Amid the images and videos that emerged from Wednesday's rampage, the sight of a man casually carrying the Co
Confederate Flag an Unnerving Sight in Capitol
It was “outrageous” to see a man carry the flag inside the Capitol, something not even Confederate soldiers were able to do during the Civil War, historians said.
“The Confederate flag made it deeper into Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, than it did during the Civil War,” a professor said of the siege at the Capitol.Credit.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Update: A man who was
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A Muslim American college student said he had fought back tears when he saw the image of a Trump supporter carrying the Confederate battle flag through the halls of the Capitol on Wednesday.