EMBATTLED GOVERNOR WON’T STEP DOWN
Chastened governor vows to pursue reconciliation instead of resigning
In his first interview since the blackface scandal began, the Virginia Democrat vows to focus on racial reconciliation.
RICHMOND, VA.» Gov. Ralph Northam, in his first interview since a racist photo from his medical school yearbook came to light a week ago, promised to pursue racial reconciliation as the Democrat defended his vow to stay in office despite widespread calls for his resignation.
Northam, 59, said he wants to spend the remaining three years of his term trying to ensure that black Virginians have the same opportunities as whites.
Northam seemed chastened and subdued as he described a week of grappling with what “white privilege” means, with the reality of African-american history, and with the personal failing of growing up after desegregation and the civil rights era while somehow not realizing that donning blackface is offensive.
“It’s been a horrific week for Virginia. A lot of individuals across Virginia have been hurt,” Northam said Saturday morning, seated in the formal front parlor of the 1813 Executive Mansion. Northam’s office restricted the interview to 30 minutes and stipulated that neither the audio nor a full transcript of the interview be released. Otherwise, there were no limitations on what could be asked or published.
He said he is monitoring the situation involving Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is denying two sexual assault allegations, but that he has not made any decisions about who he might appoint as a replacement if Fairfax heeded calls to resign.
“It must take tremendous courage for women to step forward and talk about being the victim of sexual assault,” Northam said. “These allegations are horrific, they need to be taken very seriously. Lt. Gov. Fairfax has suggested and called for an in- vestigation, I strongly support that.”
The governor still contends that he is not in the photograph of one person in blackface and another in KKK robes but could not say how it wound up on his yearbook page, nor why he initially took responsibility for it, other than to say that he was “shocked” when he first saw it on an iphone the afternoon of Feb. 1.
“I overreacted,” he said, by putting out a statement taking blame for the picture. “If I had it to do over, I would step back and take a deep breath.” He said an “independent investigation” being conducted by Eastern Virginia Medical School is aimed at clearing up the facts around it.
Looking ahead, Northam said he has asked his Cabinet secretaries to come up with specific proposals to begin addressing issues of inequality, such as expanding access to health care, housing and transportation, and to begin reporting suggestions on Monday.