Most of us have problem relatives, but not like these.
Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV (profile here) is against racism and for removing Robert E. Lee monuments, so it follows he can’t be a relative of General Lee. That’s the thought process behind rightwing online rumors that “the pastor was lying about his lineage” when he referred to himself in that manner in his public appearances and anti-racism activism. The logic works like this: Rev. Lee’s “criticism of monuments and statues in his honor must mean he’s not related.”
Rev. Lee countered by hiring a professional genealogist whose 400-page report confirmed he’s a “fourth great-nephew” of General Lee. That probably won’t shut up the people calling him a liar, because facts have nothing to do with it; their thinking is colored by their prejudices, not driven by real-world facts.
Meanwhile, Rev. Lee is out of a job, because a vocal minority of the parishioners at his former North Carolina church don’t like his outspoken racial justice work. Read story here and here.
Across the pond, German author Jennifer Teege (profile here) discusses in the video below how she learned her maternal grandfather was the real-life Nazi concentration camp commander portrayed in the film Schindler’s List, upon which revelation she wrote a book titled, “My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me.” Based on what’s known about Amon Göth (profile here), she’s probably right.