Whereas the current official seal and logo of Arlington County depict Arlington House, which is the former home of Robert E. Lee and is still known alternatively as the Robert E. Lee Memorial;
Whereas Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of the Confederate States of America, which attempted to secede from the United States of America in order to preserve and maintain the abhorrent institution of slavery;
Whereas, through his leadership of the Army of the Confederacy, Gen. Lee committed treason against the United States and supported the continuation of slavery;
Whereas Robert E. Lee himself owned slaves, some of whom lived at Arlington House;
Whereas the Confederacy was defeated militarily in the Civil War and the states that had been members of the Confederacy remained part of the United States;
Whereas during and after the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, former members of the Confederacy, including jurisdictions in Virginia, adopted place names and symbols that evoked the Confederacy;
Whereas these names and symbols were adopted in order to keep support for Confederate policies alive and to help thwart the efforts of persons of color to achieve equal status and opportunity in our society;
Whereas the use of Arlington House in the seal and logo of Arlington County casts the Confederacy in a favorable light and suggests opposition to a fair and equitable society that fully embraces persons of color;
Whereas Arlington County today has rejected its Confederate past and seeks to create a community that is fair and equitable for all, including persons of color;
Whereas various individuals, public officials, and community organizations, including the NAACP, have publicly called for replacement of Arlington’s logo because of its homage to the Confederacy;
Whereas a new seal and logo could better represent Arlington as it is today; therefore be it
Resolved, that the Arlington County Democratic Committee hereby supports replacement of Arlington County’s current seal and logo with a new seal and logo representing Arlington County in the twenty-first century.
Passed and Approved on the 6 day of January, 2021.
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