governor blackface ignores cries for his resignation

Sigh.

Ralph Northam, the Democratic Governor of Virginia, or “Coonman” as his friends used to call him, just apologized for a picture from his Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page that depicts a man in Blackface next to a figure in a KKK hood, alongside recognizable pictures of Northam. The Governor has since apologized for the picture’s appearance on his page, before, in a very Trumpian turn, turning around and openly doubting that either person in the pic is actually him, reports the Daily Beast. (Nice pants Ralph.)

Black voters are the lifeblood of the Democratic base, while their lives remain low on the Democratic agenda. Do we STILL have to spell out that Blackface is a racist and derogatory white pastime that was just as racist in 1984, when the picture was taken, as it is now? Must we waste precious time being surprised that a Democratically elected Governor allegedly dressed in Blackface as a college student, when Black Democratic senator Cory Booker (who condemned Northam’s actions) couldn’t even call Cheeto-in-Chief a “racist” with his chest, during the announcement for a run in the 2020 presidential election?

The Daily Beast reports that Virginia’s Black Lt. Governor, Justin Fairfax, described the photo as displaying Northam’s “comfort with white supremacy,” which is a perfect critique of the Democratic Party. Republicans are the straight-up source of white supremacy, and their Northam-directed indignation is so transparent in its partisan theatrics, especially considering Iowa Representative Steve King pulled a “white supremacy ain’t so bad” just last year, whereas Northam allegedly took the image in question 35 years before being sworn into office. This doesn’t mean that Northam deserves any amnesty, and he has lost almost all support from his own party both locally and nationally.

Northam says he plans to finish the 3 years left on his term, much to the ire fellow Democrats and organizations like the NAACP that have called for his resignation. The fact that the offense in question took place over 30 years ago, allows for the possibility of Northam keeping his seat anyway, because it wasn’t committed after he was elected. Incidents like this continue to highlight a one-sided relationship between Democrats and Black voters, with the latter forever doing the compromising. Black voters deserve better. Period.