Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam backed out of visiting Richmond’s Virginia Union University Thursday for a planned stop for his racial reconciliation tour, per the request of the student body.
Northam, who faced a furor over a racist photo that appeared in his medical school yearbook, was due to visit the historically black school’s annual event honoring alumni known as the Richmond 34, who participated in a non-violent protest in Richmond in 1960.
“I appreciate the original invitation of VUU’s administration, but I will abide by the students’ wishes,” Northam said in a letter to VUU’s student government association president Jamon Phenix Wednesday.
“I admire the actions the Richmond 34 took to fight segregation,” Northam said. “In lieu of my attendance at tomorrow’s chapel service, I look forward to hosting the Richmond 34 at the Executive Mansion on Friday to honor their bravery and courage.”
Phenix asked Northam to postpone his visit until the spring, when he could participate in a roundtable discussion.
“It is our understanding that you are seeking to gain atonement from your past actions while simultaneously affirming your constituents that you hold true to your beliefs in leading Virginia forward,” he said in a letter Monday.
“We are in support of an honest conversation around race and reconciliation to move our great state forward. However, we feel as though your attendance takes away from the historical significance of our commemoration of the Richmond 34.”
Northam has faced multiple calls to resign after a photo of a man in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood included from his page in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School’s yearbook was published. Northam has apologized, but has refused to step down from his post.
According to a Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday, 48 percent of Virginians believe Northam shouldn’t resign. The poll was conducted from Feb. 14-18 and included a sample size of 1,150 registered voters. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
