In 2021, descendants of enslaved and free ancestors who lived, worked and died at Arlington House plantation came together for the first time since 1861. We raise our voices in unity calling for the National Park Service site known today as Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial to be redesignated as Arlington House National Historic Site. Our goal is add to the interpretation of Arlington house by giving equal attention to all who lived there. Congress named the site, only Congress has the authority to redesignate the site. The Washington Post published an OpEd by descendants of the Lee and Syphax families in the fall of 2022. 

So why redesignate the site? In a 2022 press release, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said "If we are serious about ending racial disparities, we need to stop honoring those who fought to protect slavery."  The Lee story is only one of many stories that should be interpreted at the site. The Custis-Lee family members were enslavers who owned dozens of enslaved people. The enslaved at Arlington House served their enslavers, managed the day-to-day operations, and cared for the property both before and after it was seized by the U.S. Army to protect the Nation’s capital when the Civil War began in 1861.

How can you help? 1) Please sign this petition.  2) Share the petition with others. Raise your voice alongside ours calling for the site redesignation.  3) Send a note to your elected officials in Congress. Seek their support and co-sponsorship of the legislation.

Visit the our online interactive petition mapper at https://tinyurl.com/ARHOredes to connect with your elected member of Congress and see the distribution of petition signers. Help us raise awareness of our elected officials nationwide who can engage in a long over-due reexamination of this iconic public symbol by recognizing the importance of sharing the entire narrative of everyone who is part of the history at the site.

Background
Arlington House is located in northern Virginia on a hill overlooking the nation's capital.  The plantation house was constructed by George Washington Parke Custis on an 1,100-acre plantation between 1802-1818 to honor the first President of the United States, George Washington, who also was Custis' step grandfather.  The construction was done by some of the more that 3-dozen enslaved people inherited by Custis who were part Martha Washington's dowery.  They were taken from Mount Vernon to establish what was first known as Mount Washington and later was renamed Arlington House. 

In 1831, Custis' daughter, Mary, married Robert E. Lee.  It was in the plantation house in April 1861 where Lee resigned his commission in the U.S. Army. Despite efforts to delay his responsibility as Executor of his father-in-law’s will, Lee, was required the court to manumit the people who were enslaved by the Custis family.  He signed the manumission document on December 29, 1862, just a few days before the Emancipation Proclamation was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln.

In 1972, the U.S. Congress passed legislation renaming the National Park Service site, located within the Arlington National Cemetery, as a memorial to Lee.