A 1984 yearbook page headlined “Ralph Shearer Northam,” referring to the now-Virginia governor, includes a photo of two men, one in blackface and one in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood.
Northam apologized Friday evening for the racist photo, though he declined to specify which person he was in the photo.
On the left side of the page from the Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook is a headshot of Northam in a suit jacket and tie. Another photo shows the then-student wearing a cowboy hat. A third shows him sitting in front of a convertible.
The right side of the page includes a photo of two men, one in attire worn by members of the KKK and the other in blackface.
“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,” Northam said, saying that “it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused.”
The caption under the photo of the two men lists Virginia Military Institute, where Northam received his undergraduate degree.
“We’re not really able to comment on a photo taken of a medical student 35 years ago,” a spokesman for Eastern Virginia Medical School told the Washington Examiner. “Yearbook production was a student activity. We don’t know when or where the picture was taken or anything about it. All we can confirm is that the picture appears in the 1984 yearbook. I can tell you, EVMS is absolutely committed to supporting and creating a culture of diversity and inclusion. One of our principal missions is to recruit, educate, and train a culturally competent healthcare workforce that reflects the demographics of the nation and the patients we serve.”
The yearbook page surfaced after the Democratic governor came under intense scrutiny this week for his comments about a bill that would have loosened restrictions on abortion in the state.
Democratic Del. Kathy Tran acknowledged her bill would allow a woman who was dilated and about to give birth to receive a third-trimester abortion.
Northam defended Tran’s bill on a radio show this week, saying the outrage over the proposed legislation had been “blown out of proportion.”
“We want the government to not be involved in these types of decisions. We want the decisions to be made by the mothers and their providers.”
“This is why decisions such as this should be made by providers, physicians, and the mothers and fathers that are involved,” said Northam. “When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physician — more than one physician, by the way — and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that’s nonviable.”
“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen,” said Northam. “The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
