Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
A Sin by Any Other Name
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
13 posts | 3 read | 14 to read
A descendant of Confederate General Robert E. Lee chronicles his story of growing up with the South's most honored name, and the moments that forced him to confront the privilege, racism, and subversion of human dignity that came with it. With a foreword by Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King. The Reverend Robert W. Lee was a little-known pastor at a church in North Carolina until the Charlottesville protests, when he went public with his denunciation of white supremacy in a captivating speech at the MTV Video Music Awards. Adulation poured in from around the country, but so did threats of violence from people who opposed the Reverend's message. Weeks later, Lee was ousted from his church in North Carolina. In this riveting memoir, Lee narrates what it was like growing up as a Lee in the South, including an insider's view of the world of the white Christian majority. The author, now a professor at Appalachian State University, describes the widespread nostalgia for the Lost Cause, and his gradual awakening to the unspoken assumptions of white supremacy which had, almost without him knowing it, distorted his values and even his Christian faith. In particular, Lee examines how many White Christians in the South continue to be complicit in a culture of racism and injustice, and how after losing his pulpit, he was welcomed into a growing movement of activists all across the South who are charting a new course for the region. A Sin by Any Other Name is a love letter to the South, from the South, by a Lee--and an unforgettable call for change, hope, and renewal.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image
Pickpick

I found this book at a new local library and the title quickly caught my attention. The author says he‘s the descendant of the famous confederate Robert E. Lee (now disputed). He talks about how he grew up not understanding the meaning of the flag, seeing racism all around him, and then finally speaking out about it, with the cost of being cut off by his own church (shocker😔). He is still speaking out today. Recommended.

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

—Martin Luther King, Jr

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

Older white America, my generation, can‘t see our racism. We could pass a polygraph saying ‘I‘m not racist,‘ but what we need is a polygraph of the heart.

—David Crabtree

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

This nation is sick. Our cultural anxiety, toxic masculinity, and racial, religious, and ethnic bigotries are eating away at the soul of this nation.

—Jonathan L. Walton

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

That‘s the beauty of the South, resiliency is at our core. I would argue that progressive people in the South desperately want to see our region lifted up for its progress and its willingness to change. We all see the potential, but the realities seem daunting.

Remember what Jaime Harrison said: ‘a new South!‘

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

In the 1850s, white worshippers attending the church decided African American slaves needed their own place of worship; that‘s how St. Paul‘s, came to be. In the 1860s, this church‘s pastor took leave to join the Confederates, with the support of his flock. Amazon doc: White Savior: Racism In The American Church https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.acb70f69-cf3a-4969-48c5-6c84d4c...

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

I don‘t know if Statesville will ever fully evolve, or if the South will become a place where the best of this region can be enjoyed by all, fully reaching its potential. But I know the possibilities are endless. The task of the Southerner, the task of white people, the task of humankind is to realize that change and work for it.

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free.

—Nina Simone

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

Lee maintained his belief in white supremacy long after the Confederacy fell. He didn‘t think black people should vote. He thought the freed slaves should be returned to Africa, an arrangement he believed would be better for them and for the white people staying behind in the United States. It‘s time we look deeper into what we‘re honoring when we honor this man.

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

Hate is too great a burden to bear. Men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don‘t know each other. They don‘t know each other because they don‘t communicate with each other. They don‘t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other. To tear down the walls of hatred and fear, we must communicate and understand each other so we can eliminate systemic and institutional racism.

quote
JenniferEgnor
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image

Even now, when I hand over my credit card to a cashier, it‘s not unusual for them to ask in awed tones if I‘m related to “him.” Sometimes they‘ll even say, “The South will rise again,” assuming they‘ve found a fellow patriot. They haven‘t.

blurb
Well-ReadNeck
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image
megnews Looks great. Can‘t wait to read it. 5y
71 likes1 comment
review
Well-ReadNeck
A Sin by Any Other Name | Robert W. Lee
post image
Pickpick

Really impressed by this memoir by a descendant of Robert E. Lee. He is a minister and lost a job in North Carolina for being so outspoken about the need to acknowledge, make amends and change the past and ongoing racism in the US. He speaks in many ways to Southern, conservative Christians and it‘s a message I hope will be widely disseminated. #netgalley

DGRachel Ooh, this sounds interesting! 6y
FashionableObserver I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy! 6y
109 likes9 stack adds2 comments