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THREAD: For days, I’ve been scanning Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves’ Millsaps yearbooks. During his time, his frat, Kappa Alpha, was known for racist incidents—including blackface, Confederate balls, & attacks on black students while shouting “n**ger.” This is from their page 
Each year Reeves was there, the Kappa Alpha page included highly offensive photos, like this blackface photo. On the page next to all of these photos, you can see photos of all members, including Reeves (note: left photo is from 1993; right 1995)
On the page for Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves’ fraternity in the 1993 yearbook, they feature a photo from 1966, showing how new recruits were invited to join Kappa Alpha by a mammy-like figure.
Mississippi Lt. Gov Tate Reeves’ frat, Kappa Alpha, was known for chanting “1 2 3! Robert E. Lee! The South shoulda won!” They still describe Robert E. Lee—slaveowner & Confederate General who whipped & poured salt into the wounds of escaped slaves—as their “spiritual founder.”👇🏻
A 1994 issue of Millsaps College’s student newspapers describes an incident in which members of Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves’ fraternity, apparently wearing blackface and Confederate flags, shouted back and forth at black students on campus, and caler them “n**gers!”
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who is running for governor of Mississippi, has not shied away from Confederate flags in his post-Kappa Alpha days. In this photo, posted on Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s Facebook page a few years ago, he’s holding one in a display case.
One of Lt. Gov. Reeves’ yearbooks shows images from his fraternity’s Old South Ball — where they dressed as Confederate gentlemen and ladies. In some cases, with Confederate flags accenting even their waistbands.
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves’ fraternity also held Luau parties. In this 1993 photo when he was a freshman member, KAs wore Afros and blackface and sought to evoke the image of “savages.”
Note: I don't know if he is in any of these blackface photos—it's hard to tell what the wearers look like for obvious reasons. But his fraternity sure did wear blackface a lot.
In 2013, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves spoke to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who claim the Civil War wasn't about slavery but that “the preservation of liberty & freedom was the motivating factor in the South’s decision to fight the 2nd American Revolution.”
In 2015, @kappaalphaorder’s national office banned chapters from holding the Old South Ball. But in 2017, the Mississippi State University chapter held an Old South-themed ball. Note the caption on this member’s Instagram post: “Times will change, but traditions will never die!”
After the 1994 incident in which Tate Reeves’ Kappa Alpha fraternity shouted the n-word at black students, one of those students was talking to WLBT about the incident. Members from another fraternity told one of the students to “engage in oral sex with his ‘white genitals.’”
Kappa Alpha and Kappa Sigma were ordered to pay for and attend sensitivity training for the racist incidents and put on social probation. This was all while Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves was there.
Millsaps Kappa Alpha’s still have Confederate style balls, now called the “Rose Ball” instead of the Old South ball. This is from last year. It was held at Beauvoir, the historic home of Confederate Jefferson Davis. (sent to me anonymously by dm - thx!)
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, the 2019 front runner for the GOP nomination for governor, attended a fraternity known for blackface, and incidents in which members called black students the n-word. Some members even dressed in drag with afro wigs.
jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/feb/…
jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/feb/…
Millsaps College has released a statement on racist incidents with Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves’ fraternity, Kappa Alpha Order, and the decision of the college to allow the publication of photos of KAs in blackface and other racist costumes during Reeves’ time there:
Kappa Alphas*
Correction: The photo on the left is from a November 10, 1993 issue of the Purple and White — the student newspaper.
Correction: This photo is from a November 10, 1993 issue of the Purple and White — the student newspaper. Not the yearbook. It’s an ad for Kappa Alpha.
