Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, Reckons With Its History Of Slavery
Arlington House has reopened after a 3-year renovation. It seeks to memorialize Robert E. Lee and acknowledge his role in the Confederacy while also telling the story of those enslaved there.
After seven years of planning and $12.5 million in restoration work, the National Park Service reopened the former home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Tuesday. The mansion — officially called the Robert E. Lee Memorial — was built by enslaved people more than 200 years ago. It sits high on a Virginia bluff across the river from Washington, D.C., overlooking the Lincoln Memorial. Located within Arlington National Cemetery, it's surrounded by the graves of, among others, Union soldiers.
It's an embattled site for a home with a difficult past
