Nashville DA apologizes for picture posing with Confederate flag in 1980s yearbook

A top Nashville prosecutor’s past is coming back to haunt him after his 1982 yearbook photo surfaced showing District Attorney General Glenn Funk posing with a Confederate flag.

Glenn Funk thegrio.com
Glenn Funk

A top Nashville prosecutor’s past is coming back to haunt him after his 1982 yearbook photo surfaced showing District Attorney General Glenn Funk posing with a Confederate flag alongside his fraternity members.

Funk, a former student at Wake Forest University appears in the 1982 edition of The Howler, the school’s yearbook. It shows Funk standing posted up on a staircase next to a large Confederate flag with members of the Kappa Alpha fraternity.

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Funk has apologized and according to The Nashville Scene Funk, a Democrat, he brought the photo to the outlet on Tuesday along with his statement.

“In 1982 my picture appeared in a group photo in the yearbook with the Confederate flag prominently displayed.

“I was wrong to participate in divisive and hurtful behavior. I apologize for the hurt caused then and now,” Funk said in a statement.

Funk reportedly decided to come clean after Republican Governor Bill Lee apologized for wearing a Confederate uniform in a 1980s Auburn University yearbook. He wore it at an “Old South” party with Kappa Alpha.

Funk said he was “wrong to participate in divisive and hurtful behavior”.

It wasn’t until 2010 when the Kappa Alpha Alpha fraternity implemented rules that prevented members from wearing Confederate garb, the Tennessean reported. However online, it states that since 2001, chapters have been prohibited from displaying Confederate battle flags at fraternity functions.

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“Chapters shall not sponsor functions with the name Old South or functions with any similar name.

“All functions and activities must be conducted with restraint and dignity and without trappings and symbols that might be misinterpreted and objectionable to the general public.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee apologizes for Blackface

In the midst of controversial blackface and other racially charged yearbook photos, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee confirmed that he is the person pictured in a 1980 Auburn University yearbook photo wearing a Confederate uniform, according to The Tennessean.

This news came days after his staff members revealed that they were unaware of such photos involving the Tennessee governor.

In the picture, Lee and another man are seen wearing a Confederate army-style uniform smiling and posing along with two women wearing costumes from the time period.

The image was included in Kappa Alpha fraternity’s section of the university’s yearbook. Lee had become a member of the fraternity while a college student at the Alabama university.

“Old South” parties hosted by Kappa Alpha have been known to take place at other schools including Vanderbilt University and the University of Memphis (formerly Memphis State University).

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