The Governor of Virginia isn't the first politician to have a photo from his past come back to haunt him. But the Democrat who allegedly appeared in blackface in his college yearbook did generate a tsunami of journalists poring through yearbooks in search of other guilty parties.
In Memphis, a Commercial Appeal reporterfound instances of racially insensitive behavior at local colleges, In 1968, Christian Brothers University hosted a "Slave Day" fundraiser, during which women from the now defunct Siena College were "auctioned" as maids for a day. The students in the photos are white.
One particular college fraternity, Kappa Alpha, which has listed its "spiritual founder" as Confederate General Robert E. Lee, long trumpeted its devotion to antebellum ideals. At "Old South" parties, members wore Confederate uniforms and displayed the rebel flag. Now, former members of Kappa Alpha who have since entered politics are having to explain the significance of those uniforms and that banner. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Mississippi's lieutenant governor Tate Reeves are among them.
This week, political analyst Otis Sanford offers some thoughts on the ongoing discussion about the resurfacing of photos that require profound explanations in light of modern taboos.
