Currents News Staff
All three of Virginia’s top officials are facing pressure to resign.
Let’s start with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam who said Friday night he was in a photo that appeared in his 1984 medical school yearbook, showing someone wearing blackface.
He now insists he’s not in that picture, but did admit to wearing blackface.
Northam said “I participated in a dance party where I wore a dark face costume pretending to be Michael Jackson.”
Northam has no plans to resign but if he did he would be succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, who now faces a sexual assault allegation.
“What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault. Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcefully pushed my head towards his crotch,” claims Vanessa Tyson, whom he met at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Fairfax released a statement in response reading in part: “At no time did she express to me any discomfort or concern about our interactions.”
Then there’s Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, the next in line to the governorship, admitting Wednesday he too appeared in blackface at a party in 1980.
Warner said “This has obviously been an extraordinarily challenging week for all Virginians. I think regardless where we stand, there needs to be a moment of our Commonwealth coming together.”
Within these controversies are heavy political implications as well, since the third in line to the governorship is a republican, which would flip control of the governor’s mansion.