Ralph Northam’s School Yearbook Page Shows Men In Blackface, KKK Robes
An image from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook shows a photo of two people dressed in racist attire. One man is dressed in blackface and the other person as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Northam, a pediatric neurologist, attended Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk.
The Washington Post reports that Northam’s personal page is titled with his name “Ralph Shearer Northam” with photos of the future governor in a cowboy hat and with his prized restored Corvette. Northam attended the medical school after graduating from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
The photo in question has one person in plaid pants, a bowtie, and blackface while the other man is is full KKK robes and hood. Both people are holding a can of beer and are seemingly smiling. Below the photo, Northam lists his medical interest as pediatrics and includes a quote.
“There are more old drunks than old doctors in this world so I think I’ll have another beer.”
A spokesperson for Governor Northam had no response, but Jack Wilson, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, says that if either man in the photo is the governor, he needs to step down.
Gov @RalphNortham hasnt yet responded to this shockingly racist image on his med school yearbook page. @bigleaguepol posted it 4 hours ago, the @virginianpilot posted 2 hours ago. pic.twitter.com/eRcKDekoM8
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 1, 2019
“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 published by the website, Big League Politics, which was founded by Patrick Howley, who previously wrote for Breitbart.
The Washington Post confirmed the authenticity of the yearbook and viewed a copy at the medical school library in Virginia.
The unveiling of this photo follows a week where Northam was under fire for defending a bill that would lift restrictions on late-term abortions, which many opponents called infanticide.
Sen. Richard Stuart, a Virginia Republican and an old friend of Northam, says he has not spoken to the governor, but stands by him.
“He’s my friend and I will always stand up for him. I do not believe he would ever support any such a thing. I don’t see it. I don’t believe it.”
Racism has been a regular topic on the late night talk shows as various politicians and entertainers have been called out for using racist language and posting tasteless images on social media, says the Inquisitr.
Late night host Stephen Colbert took aim at Donald Trump and his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, after Trump used racist language when calling one of his few employees of color, Omarosa Manigault-Newman, a dog, and Sanders publicly defended him. Colbert mocked Trump after he called himself “the least racist person ever.”
“You can tell somebody’s not something when they protest exactly the right amount.”
