“What is the measure of a person?” According to Reverend Robert W. Lee IV, it is what you are doing for the suffering of the people, for those less than you. This is the message he delivered – while staying true to his Christian roots – to the audience at East Carolina University. Reverend Lee is the great-great-great-great-nephew of Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee. However, his image stands in stark contrast to his distant relative. Gen. Lee is an icon of the slaveholding confederacy during the Civil War – Rev. Lee is most famous for being dropped as pastor of his church after speaking out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at the MTV Video Music Awards.
To help us understand his philosophy, Rev. Lee directed the audience to a Star Trek episode, a bible chapter, and a letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the Star Trek episode titled “The Measure of a Man,” one of the main characters, Data, is set to be disassembled so they can figure out how to make more androids of his kind. This raises the metaphysical question of how to define “a person.” In response, the character played by Whoopi Goldberg, subtly points out how defining and denying humanness for certain beings can be a slippery slope into slavery, or more generally into the mistreatment of others in any form. In the end, Data is left to decide his own fate and the episode concludes by pointing out the power of law to “redefine the boundaries of personal liberty and freedom, expanding them for some, savagely curtailing them for others.”
The 19th chapter of the book of Acts gives the account of Paul the Apostle persuading the citizens of Ephesus to renounce idolatry and cease buying the idols made by a local silversmith, proclaiming “they be no gods, which are made with hands.” Rev. Lee likened these idols to monuments memorializing Civil War heroes and Paul to current protestors fighting for the removal of monuments flags and other remnants of the Civil War.
Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was written while he was imprisoned for participating in nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter was his response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight White religious leaders of the South, calling the demonstrations unwise and untimely. In the letter, Dr. King pointed out the necessity of both legal and nonviolent victories. He goes on to justify civil disobedience as a natural reaction to unjust laws which only serve to codify discrimination.
Rev. Lee’s examples show how working to alleviate the suffering of the people can take many different forms. Raising relevant philosophical questions to urge others to challenge societal norms, standing with unwavering faith in your values and morals even when it goes against popular opinion, and resorting to civil disobedience to protest unjust laws are all legitimate ways to accomplish social change. These methods are also enduring and have proven effective throughout history.
Those from the humanities and social sciences, such as the women who are credited with helping to establish sociology as a discipline, have asked the important questions that make us take a closer look at the ingrained ideas we usually take for granted. Oppressed people all over the globe march, protest, and organize to make their voices heard. Activists, such as Bree Newsome, who scaled a flag pole at the statehouse grounds in South Carolina in 2015 to remove a Confederate flag, take extreme measures to call attention to their cause with the hopes of securing legal victories.
Rev. Lee framed his message so that it can be embraced by people from all walks of life, no matter the religion, age, race, nationality, or social status. As a result, his lesson is one that we can all stand to consider as we go about our daily lives. What are you doing for those less than you?