*Concerning Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who is refusing to resign over a racist photo from his medical school yearbook, he now says he was not one of the men in the picture (see below), although he did admit to once wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume.
“I am asking for the opportunity to earn your forgiveness,” Northam said, standing alongside his wife.
He claimed that he had never before seen the photo ― which showed a man wearing blackface alongside a man in a Ku Klux Klan outfit ― because he did not purchase the yearbook. He said that when his staff showed him the photo this week, he was seeing it “for the first time.”
Well that’s not good enough for a lot of organizations, including the NAACP.
“We are deeply disappointed in Gov. Ralph Northam decision to not resign today. His failure to take accountability for his actions is sickening. He says he used shoe polish on his face to mimic Michael Jackson, yet denies he ever used black face. This is unacceptable for any leader. He contradicts his earlier decision to admit responsibility to now say he had nothing to do with the photo. Implicit bias is bias, and it’s clear that someone who cannot distinguish from using shoe polish on his face to imitate a Black person from black face, clearly suffers from this or is delusional. This image is example of the historical effects of institutional racism and the lack of awareness of the discrimination against of Black people. Racism of any kind cannot be excused nor overlooked. We stand by our call for his resignation. He will now have to answer to his constituents in Virginia who will find it difficult to make peace with his choice.” – Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO.
JERMAINE JACKSON SAYS HE’S ‘1,000 PERCENT SURE’ MICHAEL JACKSON DIDN’T MOLEST CHILDREN
JOY ANN REID & MSNBC INCORRECTLY CALL BLACK VOTERS BOTS THAT USE #ADOS & #AMERICANDOS – CREATORS DEMAND APOLOGY
Gov. Northam says he once “used just a little bit of shoe polish” to darken his face and compete as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in 1984. https://t.co/Q2MQMaAq7K pic.twitter.com/zn0Q5m48nQ
— CNN (@CNN) February 2, 2019
Here’s a statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the revelations about Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s racist actions:
“Gov. Northam’s comments today – including his admission of past ‘mistakes’ and his denial that he is portrayed in the deeply offensive, racist yearbook photo that surfaced yesterday – are contradictory and wholly inadequate. If he is not one of the people portrayed in that despicable photo, he should have said so the moment it surfaced. In addition, this still begs the question of why he allowed such an awful image to be featured on his yearbook page in the first place. It’s wholly unacceptable for anyone, especially for an elected leader, to create, promote, or be associated with such racist imagery.
“Every mom knows this is not okay; and especially at this time when our country is so deeply divided and President Trump is actively reinforcing structural racism in policy, we need leaders who are better than this. Gov. Northam simply is not the right person to lead Virginia. He should resign from office now.”
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