Virginia Governor "darkened face" during 1984 dance contest in San Antonio

There's now a San Antonio angle to the ongoing controversies involving Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. Northam maintains that he doesn't believe he appeared in a racist yearbook photo. Speaking from the Governor's Mansion today, Northam said he won't resign despite calls for him to step down from leaders on both sides of the political aisle. The Virginia Democrat reiterated that he took responsibility for the photo that was racist and offensive. Northam claimed he was unaware of the photo which featured men in blackface and Ku Klux Klan robes until it resurfaced yesterday. But, he did admit that he darkened his face with shoe polish when he dressed up as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in his past and he regrets it. Northam says the contest took place in 1984 while he was in a pediatric residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He closed his comments with a commitment to fight racism as he finishes out the rest of his term.

Photo: Getty Images


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