Lee disagreed with the National Park Service removing funding for a Black Panther Legacy Project in 2017. The Representative released a statement saying, "It is outrageous that the National Park Service has stripped resources from the Black Panther Party Research, Interpretation & Memory Project. The Black Panther Party was an integral part of the civil rights movement and the public has a right to know their history. I call upon the National Park Service and the Department of Interior to provide a full explanation as to why these critical federal resources have been taken away".