To the editor:

I’ve read every comment written regarding the renaming of Lee Street over the last several months.

Here’s my take:

History cannot be rewritten. Lee Street is our history. Love him or despise him, Robert E. Lee grew up here and was a resident of Alexandria. He fought for his ideals, however misguided. Are we also going to take down the markers identifying his childhood home or that of his relatives?

We, Alexandrians, are a strong folk. In understanding what history has written, we must accept it and speak of it both to each other and to any visitors we encounter.

-Sandy Northrop, Alexandria