Not THAT Robert E. Lee
It appears the leftist lynch mob has misfired in Moore County.
The auditorium at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines is named “Robert E. Lee Auditorium.”
I saw that, shortly after I moved here about 15 years ago, and couldn’t believe it. I developed some admiration for the local school officials for having the guts to stick with that.
Not long after, I learned that the auditorium is actually named for someone a lot more contemporary than the Civil War general. Robert Lee was the superintendent of the county schools from 1959 to 1985. He was in charge when the orders to desegregate schools got handed down, and many longtime locals say he did a good job of keeping things calm, cool and orderly during that period.
Fast forward to today — after the lunacy of Charlottesville and Durham. Apparently, some low-info lefties decided to direct some heated inquiries at the school system about the auditorium name. Surely, they thought this was going to be their chance to scream and riot before the CNN cameras.
(What do you want to bet that they still demand the name be changed because it triggers thoughts about the Confederacy?)
The school system had to put out a statement on Facebook and in local driveby media explaining that, NO, the auditorium is NOT named for the general.
It’s sort of sad and pathetic that sort of thing HAS to be done.
What makes this even more interesting, or sad, depending on how you view our local newspaper (?) is that this story first ran in the News and Observe. It took the Pilot more than 24 hours after that to realize that “something was happening” in Moore County and to publish this article. Sad.
THAT Robert E. Lee, the great general, was an opponent of slavery who described slavery as ”a moral and political evil” and who voluntarily freed hundreds of slaves he inherited through his wife’s family a decade before the War Between the States. It is absolutely insane that the extreme left in our country, and that includes our extreme left governor Roy Cooper, wants to take down his statues.
In contrast, Union General U.S. Grant also inherited slaves through his wife’s family, but he kept his until the ratification of the 13th amendment in December 1865, eight months after the war was over finally freed the Grant slaves. Grant’s slaves were in Kentucky, to which the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply. The Taliban Left in America seems to have no problem with Grant statues.
Amen, Raphael! I’ve been trying to tell people that myself. You are right on.