A racist, decades-old photo may cost Gov. Ralph Northam, D-Va., his political career, but the ramifications will be more severe and enduring for Eastern Virginia Medical School, which has been scrambling to defend its reputation after the infamous photo came to light, along with other questionable photos.
The photo on Northam’s yearbook page shows one man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan uniform. While he now vehemently denies his appearance in the photo, leaders on both sides have called for his resignation, and Eastern Virginia Medical School has been caught in the crossfire. A second blackface photo was uncovered in Northam’s yearbook earlier this month.
The Washington Post reported that Eastern Virginia Medical School quit producing student yearbooks in 2014 after a diversity officer questioned why one yearbook featured a photo of three white students dressed in Confederate uniforms.
The embattled medical school has released a slew of statements denouncing the photos and demonstrating its commitment to diversity. President Richard Homan announced the launch of an external investigation into the school’s past yearbooks and campus culture, and to “provide recommendations for future actions.”
“We share the outrage, alarm and sadness voiced by our alumni, the press and many on social media regarding the picture published in the 1984 student yearbook,” Homan said in an earlier statement. “The picture is shockingly abhorrent and absolutely antithetical to the principles, morals and values we hold and espouse of our educational and research institution and our professions. Racism and discrimination in any form is not acceptable.”
Unfortunately for the school, the story has continued to dominate the news cycle, turning Eastern Virginia Medical School into a household name for all the wrong reasons.
Two public college presidents in Virginia have sought to distance their schools from the controversy by condemning Northam. The College of William & Mary rescinded its invitation for Northam to speak at a campus event, and the University of Virginia called the photo “shocking and racist.” Surely, both leaders are crossing their fingers that no one unearths similar photos from their own schools.
While it’s sad that a distinguished medical school has to suffer the consequence of a justified hit piece on the Democratic governor, it should have been more proactive in addressing the skeletons in its closet. Clearly, Eastern Virginia Medical School officials were aware that the old student yearbooks had some racist photos in them. They should not have waited until one of their most prominent alumni became a target before speaking out.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
