Embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is vowing not to step down in the face of widespread calls for his resignation after the publication of a racist photo in his medical school yearbook.
“Virginia needs someone that can heal. There’s no better person to do that than a doctor. Virginia also needs someone who is strong, who has empathy, who has courage, and who has a moral compass. And that’s why I’m not going anywhere,” Northam, a Democrat, said during an interview with CBS News. Northam, 59, is a pediatric neurologist.
Northam has been fending off calls to step down after a photo on his medical school yearbook page from 1984 showed one person dressed in blackface and a second person dressed in a Ku Klux Klan hood.
Northam said he is not in the photo, but admitted to wearing blackface on one occasion to dress up as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in 1984.
The Democratic governor said he has “learned” from the scandal but acknowledged he has “a lot more to learn.”
“I have thought about resigning, but I’ve also thought about what Virginia needs right now. And I really think that I’m in a position where I can take Virginia to the next level and it will be very positive,” Northam said. “And you know we have a number of inequities in this country right now, and in Virginia, and we’re in a position to really stop talking so much and now to take action with policy to address a lot of these inequities.”
The publication of Northam’s yearbook photo was not the only scandal to crop up in the commonwealth this month. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, admitted last week to wearing blackface in 1980 when he dressed up as a rapper for a party. Meanwhile, the state’s lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, also a Democrat, was accused by two women of sexual assault. He has denied the allegations, saying the encounters were consensual.
Northam would not say whether he believes Fairfax should resign, instead voicing his support for an investigation into the allegations against the lieutenant governor.
