Dem Virginia Gov Apologizes For Racist Yearbook Photo: “This Behavior Is Not In Keeping With Who I Am Today”

“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. This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.

“I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their Governor.” – Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

The Washington Post reports:

Jack Wilson, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia said Northam should step down. “Racism has no place in Virginia,” Wilson said in a statement. “These pictures are wholly inappropriate. If Governor Northam appeared in blackface or dressed in a KKK robe, he should resign immediately.”

The yearbook image was first posted Friday by the website Big League Politics, a conservative outlet founded by Patrick Howley, a former writer for the Daily Caller and Breitbart. The Washington Post independently confirmed the authenticity of the yearbook by viewing it in the medical school library in Norfolk.

I’m at ⁦EVMS⁩ in Norfolk, Virginia (Gov. Ralph Northam graduated here). These are photos from the 1984 yearbook, including ⁦@GovernorVA Ralph Northam’s page, in a yearbook provided by the library. I’ve asked the governor’s office for comment.

Sent from my iPhone pic.twitter.com/1u3mYKJWnY

— Sarah McCammon (@sarahmccammon) February 1, 2019