RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s page in his 1984 medical school yearbook contains a photo of a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood next to different pictures of the governor.
The Virginian-Pilot obtained a copy of the photo Friday from Eastern Virginia Medical School library, which Northam attended. The photos, which were confirmed by The Associated Press, were first published by the conservative news outlet Big League Politics.
It’s unclear who the people in the picture are, but the rest of the half-page shows photos of Northam — in a jacket and tie, in a cowboy hat, and next to a car — beneath his name. The page lists his undergraduate alma mater and his interest as pediatrics.
The Democratic governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republican state Sen. Bryce Reeves said in a statement that Northam should resign if the reports of the photos are accurate.
“I hope that this picture is inaccurate and that the Governor brings clarity to this issue. This has no place in Virginia,” Reeves said.
Northam, a folksy pediatric neurologist who is personal friends with many GOP lawmakers, has recently come under fire from Republicans who have accused him of backing infanticide after he said he supported a bill loosening restrictions on late-term abortions.
Last week, Florida’s secretary of state resigned after photos from a 2005 Halloween party showed him in blackface while dressed as a Hurricane Katrina victim.
1 comment
1984??? Really!!! Sorry GOP and Dems on both sides of the aisle and the Americans out there that continue to divide America, but all this “dirt” from one’s past is ridiculous!
Fred Armisen wears dark makeup to portray Obama on SNL, but widely acceptable. Frank Caliendo wears skin darkening makeup to appear as Barkley for his TV appearances, but widely acceptable. Eddie Murphy had worn white face to be a Jewish guy in Coming to America, but is widely accepted. The Wayans Bros. depicted “White Girls” and made fun of blonde girls, yet is widely accepted. Dave Chapelle had the black white supremacist and dressed in KKK garb. I just don’t see the harm in this happening 35 years ago and this is all for for political gain. Oh, and in pro-life, so win this another way GOP!