As the Washington & Lee University board of visitors nears a vote on dropping Lee from the university name, 22 W&L alumni affiliated with the General’s Redoubt have affixed their names to an essay that makes the following points:
- There are numerous historical ties between the families of George Washington and Robert E. Lee, and both families were involved in the birth of our nation and its ongoing evolution.
- Both George Washington and Robert E. Lee were interested and involved with education, not only academic instruction, but also practical and moral education.
- Both men supported reconciliation after long and divisive wars.
- The personal association of George Washington and Robert E. Lee with our university has been a successful “branding” strategy for over 225 years.
You can read the letter here.
— JAB