Posted on Apr 24, 2023
They're strangers with a painful shared bond: Robert E. Lee enslaved their ancestors
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https://www.npr.org/2023/04/24/ [login to see] /arlington-house-robert-e-lee-reconciliation
There was a one-of-a-kind reunion over the weekend at Arlington House – the national memorial to Robert E. Lee that sits atop a hill in Arlington National Cemetery. Descendants of the Confederate general gathered with the descendants of the people the Lee family once enslaved on the property in Virginia.
Many of them are seeing one another in person for the first time after meeting virtually for the last two years in pursuit of racial understanding in what's known as the Family Circle.
"I'm on this committee, the Family Circle, to bring back the memories of our ancestors, as well as reconcile with the family that enslaved them," says Cecilia Torres, a retired teacher from California. She's the great-great-granddaughter of Selina Gray and Thornton Gray.
There was a one-of-a-kind reunion over the weekend at Arlington House – the national memorial to Robert E. Lee that sits atop a hill in Arlington National Cemetery. Descendants of the Confederate general gathered with the descendants of the people the Lee family once enslaved on the property in Virginia.
Many of them are seeing one another in person for the first time after meeting virtually for the last two years in pursuit of racial understanding in what's known as the Family Circle.
"I'm on this committee, the Family Circle, to bring back the memories of our ancestors, as well as reconcile with the family that enslaved them," says Cecilia Torres, a retired teacher from California. She's the great-great-granddaughter of Selina Gray and Thornton Gray.
They're strangers with a painful shared bond: Robert E. Lee enslaved their ancestors
Posted from npr.org
Arlington
Slavery
American History
Civil War
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."She wouldn't say "a slave"
"My grandmother kept trying to push it on us when she would bring us up here — 'That's your great-great-grandmother's house. She was kind of like a maid to Mrs. Lee,'" Torres recalls. "She wouldn't say a slave."
For decades, there was little public acknowledgment of the enslaved people who cared for Arlington House, but in the last few years the National Park Service has created a more inclusive experience, like restoring the cramped slave quarters where Selina and Thornton Gray lived with their eight children.
Torres walks inside and asks, "What? How are 10 people going to sleep in here?"
Torres says being here to see this and unite with the Family Circle gives her chills.
"It's spooky in a way, but it's also reassuring," she says. "My great-great grandmother, she took care of this house and cleaned it for years, for like 30 years. So I feel like she's here, and she's glad I'm here too."...
..."She wouldn't say "a slave"
"My grandmother kept trying to push it on us when she would bring us up here — 'That's your great-great-grandmother's house. She was kind of like a maid to Mrs. Lee,'" Torres recalls. "She wouldn't say a slave."
For decades, there was little public acknowledgment of the enslaved people who cared for Arlington House, but in the last few years the National Park Service has created a more inclusive experience, like restoring the cramped slave quarters where Selina and Thornton Gray lived with their eight children.
Torres walks inside and asks, "What? How are 10 people going to sleep in here?"
Torres says being here to see this and unite with the Family Circle gives her chills.
"It's spooky in a way, but it's also reassuring," she says. "My great-great grandmother, she took care of this house and cleaned it for years, for like 30 years. So I feel like she's here, and she's glad I'm here too."...
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