Virginia Governor Reportedly Does a Complete 180 on Racist Yearbook Photos
After initially apologizing for a racially insensitive photo on his medical school yearbook page, embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has decided he has nothing for which to apologize.
On Friday, a photo was released that showed Northam’s medical school yearbook page. The photo shows two men. One man is wearing blackface next to another person in a Ku Klux Klan outfit, complete with hood.
Northam issued a statement that apologized, without saying which person he was in the photo.
“Earlier today, a website published a photograph of me from my 1984 medical school yearbook in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive,” his statement said.
“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” the statement said.
The statement did little to muffle calls for the liberal Democrat to resign.
On Saturday, Northam told others he would not step down, claiming that he was not in the photo.
The governor has also been calling his former med school classmates to jog their memories. He does NOT think he is the man in Klan hood or blackface and doesn’t want to resign before trying to determine who is in that photo.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) February 2, 2019
Northam told Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas that he was not in the photo, according to the senator’s spokesperson, NBC reported.
NBC said Northam made a similar comment to another Virginia Democrat it did not name.
Virginia Gov. Northam: “When I was confronted with the images yesterday, I was appalled that they appeared on my page, but I believe, then and now, that I am not either of the people in that photo.” pic.twitter.com/KPanPvrI3L
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 2, 2019
CNN, citing who it said was a top Virginia Democrat, reported that Northam had called former Eastern Virginia Medical School colleagues and was told by some that “many of the pictures in the yearbook were mixed up.”
Northam has said that he did not recall the picture ever having been taken, CNN reported.
The New York Times reported that Northam was prepared to use facial recognition software in an effort to prove he was not in the photo.
The initial response to this strategy indicates it will be a hard sell.
The Democratic Party of Virginia released a statement Saturday in response to hearing that Northam was planning to remain in office.
“We made the decision to let Governor Northam do the correct thing and resign this morning — we have gotten word he will not do so this morning.”
Democrats said Northam’s denial he was in the picture changes nothing.
“We stand with Democrats across Virginia and the country calling him to immediately resign,” the statement said. “He no longer has our confidence or our support. Governor Northam must end this chapter immediately, step down, and let Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax heal Virginia’s wounds and move us forward.”
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