Yesterday's bombshell report of a racist photograph in Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's 1984 medical school yearbook is prompting calls for his resignation across the political spectrum.
By all accounts, Northam has lived his life in a manner that is completely at odds with the despicable characterizations in the photograph. He served as a medical officer in the Army, as a State Senator, and as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor prior to becoming Governor, without any suggestion of this behavior in his past. But this was 1984, not 1884 (not that it would've been less racist then), and he was an adult when he chose to participate in the ignorant, racist photograph.
He's already lost the support of his party in the House of Delegates:
The Dem caucus in the VA House of Delegates is calling on Governor Ralph Northam to resign— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) February 2, 2019
"We regret to say that we are no longer confident in the Governor's representation of Virginians. Though it brings us no joy to do so, we must call for Governor Northam's resignation." pic.twitter.com/Kgj9UsXsIJ
And from his Democratic predecessor:
The situation that he has put himself and the Commonwealth of Virginia in is untenable. It's time for Ralph to step down, and for the Commonwealth to move forward.— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) February 2, 2019
And from the NAACP:
Black face in any manner is always racist and never okay. No matter the party affiliation, we can not stand for such behavior, which is why the @NAACP is calling for the resignation of Virginia Governor @RalphNortham— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) February 2, 2019
His position is completely untenable. We believe he'll do the right thing and resign.
UPDATE: No resignation for now. In a news conference that just concluded this afternoon, Northam said it was not him in the picture in question and he won't resign. At the same time, he volunteered that he "darkened" his face for a Michael Jackson dance contest during roughly the same time period, digging the hole deeper. He also answered a question as to why the nickname "Coonman" was under his picture in the Virginia Military Institute yearbook from a few years earlier. Curious.
UPDATE: No resignation for now. In a news conference that just concluded this afternoon, Northam said it was not him in the picture in question and he won't resign. At the same time, he volunteered that he "darkened" his face for a Michael Jackson dance contest during roughly the same time period, digging the hole deeper. He also answered a question as to why the nickname "Coonman" was under his picture in the Virginia Military Institute yearbook from a few years earlier. Curious.
