Ralph Northam, the 73^rd governor of Virginia, was born in Nassawadox, VA in September of 1959. He was voted, “Most likely to succeed” in high school. He later attended the Virginia Military Institute in 1981, followed by Eastern Virginia Medical School to get his medical degree. He later served as an Army medical officer from 1984 to 1992, and during Operation Desert Storm he helped evacuate and treat casualties at a military hospital in Germany. Ralph Northam left the Army in 1992 and pursued a career as a pediatric neurologist. In February 2015, Ralph Northam expressed his interest in running for Virginia governor. Northam ran for governor and beat Ed Gillespie to be the 73^rd governor of Virginia.

In February of 2019, a photo emerged of Ralph Northam from the yearbook of the Eastern Virginia Medical School.  The pictures showed him and his car, a formal portrait, posing with a cowboy hat on, and the controversial picture of him and another student: one in blackface and the other wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and gown. The caption under the photo says, “There are more old drunks than old doctors in this world so I think I’ll have another beer.” 

Many Virginia residents question whether he should remain governor of Virginia.  Northam admitted that the photo was extremely racist and derogatory, and later apologized, saying  in a quote from Fox News , “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.” 

Northam also acknowledges that the people will not have the same trust in him as they had, and he said  in another quote from Fox News, “I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.”

It is unclear whether Northam appeared in blackface or in the Ku Klux Klan robe and he has made no public statement clarifying which of the two he is. The 73^rd governor of Virginia said in fact he is not planning on resigning d

espite the pressure from many government officials–many even from his own political party, including former governor Terry McAuliffe (D) and numerous citizens.

If Northam were to resign he would be succeeded by Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax for the remainder of the term until the next election in 2021.  Multiple government officials are also telling Lt. Governor Fairfax to step down as well as Northam due to the sexual assault allegations that surfaced within the week.

Lt. Governor of Virginia, Justin Fairfax, who is accused of two counts of sexual assault.

Many people are outraged due to the fact that the yearbook photo was taken post civil rights which would make it an abnormal occurrence in 1984. The fact that Virginia has such a racist past makes people feel even more betrayed, considering Virginia has been fighting for equality for so long.  

The Attorney General of Virginia, Mark Herring, is also under fire after he admitted to darkening his face in college to dress up as Kurtis Blow at a party in 1980 when he was 19. The majority of people are asking the Governor Northam to step down, but he has yet to indicate any intention of doing so.