A former yearbook page designer at Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school doubts the racist photo that appeared on the Democrat’s personal page belonged to a different student.
William Elwood, who helped design most of the personal pages in Eastern Virginia Medical School’s 1984 yearbook, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch students could provide as many as three photos to include on their personal page.
“To the best of my remembrance — and anything is possible — but it’s not probable that that was another student’s picture. We didn’t take the kind of security you do in the military with some things, but we did our best to make sure they were photos that people submitted,” Elwood said.
“In my experience, the most likely thing is he submitted that picture. … Is it possible somebody could’ve switched the pictures after the fact? Yes. Is it probable? No,” Elwood said.
Elwood said he couldn’t remember if he was the designer who worked on Northam’s page. He also mentioned he had never heard of any instance previously in which someone had a photo incorrectly attributed to them.
On Friday, Northam’s personal page from the 1984 yearbook was published online, depicting a photo of a man in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood.
Northam apologized for the photo on Friday, but he backtracked on Saturday telling reporters during a press conference he didn’t believe he was one of the two men in the photo. However, he did admit to wearing blackface in 1984 for a Michael Jackson costume at a talent show.
“Right now, I am simply asking for the opportunity to demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the person I was is not the man I am today. I am asking for the opportunity to earn your forgiveness,” Northam said in a prepared statement on Saturday.
Democrats including Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia have called on Northam to step down. Several 2020 presidential candidates have also called for him to resign, as have the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, the House Democratic Caucus, and Virginia Senate Democrats.
