A new petition is hoping to change the narrative behind the county, dropping Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in favor of the iconic martial artist Bruce Lee.
In an effort to “eradicate” racism in both Florida and across the country, a local arts organization is calling for the rebrand instead of a complete name change to minimize the costs, while still changing the narrative behind the county’s namesake.
“I’m not a fan of living in Robert E. Lee County. It doesn’t make me proud,” said Brian Weaver, owner of the Florida-based organization Artsemble Underground, which started the petition last month. In the petition, the group of artists said they chose Bruce Lee, to replace Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, as the county namesake because of his impact as a leading actor, martial artist and pop culture icon of his time.
During Bruce Lee’s ascent to fame, he produced a number of films in Hong Kong, where he was raised before heading to the United States to attend school and eventually teach martial arts. In his later years, he became widely known for producing one of the first co-productions between Hollywood and Hong Kong,“He is credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films,” the petition reads.
Lee County was originally named in 1887 at the behest of prominent Fort Myers citizens and Confederate
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