Op-Ed

OP-ED: District Attorney Glenn Funk on Current Behavior Rather Than Ancient History

THE TENNESSEE TRIBUNE — There’s a long, ugly history of white fraternities and yearbook staffs at various universities participating in racist behavior.

Published

6 years ago

March 9, 2019

Oakland Post

By Tribune staff

There’s a long, ugly history of white fraternities and yearbook staffs at various universities participating in racist behavior. A new wave of national attention regarding this situation was initially generated by a 1982 yearbook photo of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s medical school class. It showed one man in blackface and another wearing Klan robes. Northam at press time has refused demands to step down from his post as Governor.

The Northam photo prompted a USA Today investigative search of a host of 70s and 80s college yearbooks which has uncovered hundreds of racist photos. One of those featured Tennessee’s brand new Governor Bill Lee. He was shown wearing a Confederate army uniform during his ‘70s student days as a member of Auburn’s Kappa Alpha fraternity in a salute to the “Old South.” The Governor has since issued an apology for that photo.

This week current Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk publicly revealed he was a member of that same fraternity while at Wake Forest in the ‘80s. In addition, he disclosed there’s a photo of him in a setting where the Confederate flag is being prominently displayed. He has also apologized for that photo.

The Tribune’s attitude regarding such behavior is simple. There was no place for it in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and there remains no place for it today. It should always be condemned, particularly the use of blackface, and any homages to the “Old South.”

But it is both foolish and politically ignorant for anyone to demand Glenn Funk’s resignation strictly on the basis of actions done 37 years ago. No one’s excusing youthful ignorance, but there’s nothing anyone can do about it now. You won’t find too many people who didn’t do dumb things when they were young. Unless it was something criminal, we learn from them and hopefully move on to become better people.

Another reality is many colleges and universities, whether in or out of the South, thought nothing of having “Old South” parties, events where people showed up in blackface, and parading the Confederate flag at various functions and rallies. Anyone who saw SEC football or basketball games during the ‘60s can remember when students at various schools waved those flags as acts of defiance against integrating their campuses. But none of that has anything to do with District Attorney Glenn Funk in 2019.

District Attorney Glenn Funk’s track record as a DA is far superior to that of his predecessors, particularly in the areas of employment. Where they could only find 1 or 2 Blacks and constantly made excuses that they couldn’t find qualified Black attorneys to hire, either locally or nationally. District Attorney Glenn Funk has recruited and hired Black men and women attorneys to his staff, and not just for show. There are 5 Black males, 5 Black females, 2 Hispanic males and 2 Hispanic females.

He has also been steadfast in not covering up difficult issues involving police misconduct. His decision to charge police office Andrew Delke with criminal homicide in the shooting of Daniel Hambrick was a courageous one, and got him accused by Delke’s attorney of having “declared war on the police department.” The vast majority of District Attorneys would have reviewed the evidence collected by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and simply ruled it a justifiable shooting, anxious to avoid any possibility of conflict with the police.

Perspective and good judgment should be exercised when evaluating someone’s past and present actions. It is right to call attention to past misdeeds, and right for those involved to publicly admit their mistakes and apologize.

But in the District Attorney Glenn Funk case, he made the decision to publicly disclose what happened. He didn’t try to hide it or explain it away, but apologized for it.

The Kappa Alpha fraternity has banned the wearing of Confederate uniforms since 2010, and no longer celebrates or even uses the term “Old South.”

Incidentally, another person whose name turned up in USA Today’s yearbook search is their current editor Nicole Carroll. She was the 21-year-old editor of Arizona State University’s 1988-89 yearbook which included a photo of two whites in blackface, one pretending to be Mike Tyson, the other wearing a wig and pretending to be Robin Givens. Carroll has issued a formal apology for that picture.

No one is calling for her resignation from USA Today, or that Governor Lee plans to step down. He could follow District Attorney Glenn Funk fairness to the Black community statewide by hiring Blacks in those top level positions and increase the number of Blacks in state government.

So there’s no reason for District Attorney Glenn Funk to do so either, especially when he’s demonstrated the most concern for opportunity and fairness in the DA’s office of anyone in the Tribune’s 26 year plus history.

This article originally appeared in The Tennessee Tribune.

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Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

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Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations

Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Courtesy photo.

By Janani Ramachandran

There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4^th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.

With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.

We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.

The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4^th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.

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NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign

“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

Washington, DC: The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, has announced the planning and implementation of a national public education and selective buying campaign across the nation in direct response to those corporate entities that have dismantled their respective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments, programs and staffing. NNPA Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell Sr. explained, “Now is the time for the Black Press of America once again to emphatically speak and publish truth to power.”

At a recent convening of NNPA member publishers and editors, a united resolve was reached that each member publication of the NNPA will begin a national public education campaign coupled with the release of research data on those American companies that are engaging in efforts to sanction racial injustice, inequitable polices, divisive leadership, and economic apartheid in America.

“We note forthrightly that Black Americans spend $2 trillion dollars annually as consumers of products and services throughout the United States,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. emphasized. “We now must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us,” Chavis continued. “This now must come to an end. These contradictions will not go unchallenged by 50 million Black Americans who have struggled for centuries to ensure equality, fairness and inclusion in our nation’s democracy.”

A selective buying campaign involves exercising the right to select what we spend our money on and who we spend our money with. We are starting with targeting TARGET.

The following are some of the major American companies that have publicly retreated from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: