Quote:
Originally posted by dzrose93 (in part)
The fact that Lee is an historic figure associated with the South during the Civil War has given a lot of people reason to believe that the men of Kappa Alpha would like to go back to the days of slavery.
|
My favorite story about Robert E. Lee: Some years after the Civil War, he was attending church (St. Paul's Episcopal) in Richmond, across the street from the Capitol. At Communion a black man came foward to the altar rail. The others there -- all white -- got up and left. No one else approached the altar rail, leaving the black man there by himself, until one man got up from his seat, walked up the aisle, and knelt next to him. And yes, as I'm sure you can guess, that man was Robert E. Lee.
If we judge by the standards of our own time, then I am sure we would consider Lee a racist (as we would Washington, Jefferson, and many, many others). But by the standards of Lee's time, that silent act was a powerful challenge to prevailing, deeply-entrenched prejudices.
For what it's worth.