Rev. Robert Lee IV resigns from church following VMAs appearance

September 5, 2017

Rev. Robert Lee IV has resigned from his position at Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, following his comments at the 2017 Video Music Awards.

Read his statement below.

Lee is a descendent of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and introduced Susan Bro at the award show. Bro is the mother of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old counter-protestor who was murdered during the rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lee spoke eloquently against racism, citing that it was his “moral duty to speak out against racism, America’s original sin.” You can watch the entire segment below, including Susan Bro announcing the launch of the Heather Heyer Foundation.

“I call on all of us with privilege and power to confront racism and white supremacy head-on” – Robert Lee IV #VMAs pic.twitter.com/ko4SM9VnaU

— MTV (@MTV) August 28, 2017

Now, a little over a week later, Rev. Lee will be resigning from his position at Bethany United Church of Christ. In a statement published on the Auburn Seminary website, Rev. Lee writes: “My presence at the church as a descendent of Robert E. Lee and an outspoken opponent of White Supremacy had already attracted attention, but with my appearance on MTV the media’s focus on my church reached an all time high. A faction of church members were concerned about my speech and that I lifted up Black Lives Matter movement, the Women’ s March, and Heather Heyer as examples of racial justice work … 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.”

His appearance at the 2017 VMAs led the church to begin to consider voting on his tenure. When Rev. Lee heard about this, he submitted his resignation and delivered the following message to his parishioners:

“I regret that speaking out has caused concern and pain to my church. For this is I offer my heartfelt apology. I understand that my views could be considered to be controversial. I never sought this sort of attention. But, I do believe in God’s role in calling out for positive social change for the good of all.

We are all called by God to speak out against hate and evil in all its many forms. There are so many good things going on with this congregation and I do not want my fight to detract from the mission. If the recent media attention causes concern with my church, I reluctantly offer my resignation.”

The Bethany United Church of Christ was the first job Rev. Lee began work after graduating from seminary school as he only began the position in February.

How do you feel about Rev. Lee's resignation? Let us know in the comments.

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