Proponent of Confederate flag who protested at Greene County event dies at 77

An activist for the Confederate Dixie flag who came to some events, including some in Northeast Tennessee, dressed in full Civil War regalia has died.

The family of HK Edgerton said the 77-year-old Asheville native died in his sleep Sunday at the VA Medical Center.

Edgerton campaigned for recognition of black soldiers who served the Confederacy in the 1800s and usually marched around with a Confederate flag at protests, including an October 2015 session of the Greene County Commission that made national headlines where lawmakers voted 20-1 to a reject a request from a fellow councilman to fly the flag at the Greeneville courthouse based on historical purposes.

Edgerton was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and a former president of the Asheville chapter of the NAACP.

(IMAGE: A photo from 2015 features HK Edgerton, a Sons of Confederate Veterans member who attended an October 2015 session of the Greene County, Tennessee Commission where a resolution to fly the Confederate flag at the County Courthouse failed by a vote of 20-1 / J. Olsen – Bristol Broadcasting Co News)