Sins of the Past

Sins of the Past

Ralph Northam was elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2017.  He was part of a Democratic revival in the state; the party did well in legislative elections and won all of the statewide offices. The two major factors in the return of the Democrats to power were the changing nature of the Northern Virginia suburbs and, the increase in African-American votes. Both led to Democratic victories.

Northam has a legislative history of progressive action, including furthering civil rights, and taking a clear stand on the racist attacks at Charlottesville.  Born and raised in Virginia, he was educated at the Virginia Military Institute (1981) and Eastern Virginia Medical School (1984), then served in the Army Medical Corps for eight years, rising to the rank of Major. He left the military to become a pediatric neurologist in Norfolk before running for state senate in 2008, becoming Lieutenant Governor in 2013, and winning the Governor’s race in 2017.

So it was with a great deal of shock that Virginia and the rest of the nation learned that Northam was pictured in black-face next to a person dressed in KKK hoods and robes in his Medical School yearbook.  Even more surprising was the racist college nickname given to Northam at VMI, “Coonman.” 

The yearbook picture was discovered by a “media organization” called “Big League Politics,” founded by two alumni from the far-right Breitbart site.  While their “axe to grind” with Northam is clear; it was an example of the kind of information that any good political opposition research would unearth; it is remarkable that the picture had not been revealed before.

Almost unanimously, Democrats in Virginia and across the nation called for Northam to resign from the Governorship.  While he remains in office, it is difficult to see a path forward that would allow him to govern effectively.  

There are two issues here. The first is a process one:  why would and how could Northam run for office with this in his background, without in some way dealing with it.  This skeleton in his closet has been there to be discovered the whole time; any reasonable politician would realize that the longer it stayed there, the more powerful the impact of its revelation would be.  

And second, where is the “heart” of Ralph Northam?  Is he a racist at heart, even though a progressive in action, or is there some other explanation of his actions in the 1980’s that could excuse him today?

Many folks have things they did earlier in their lives that they aren’t proud of.  Ralph Northam acted as a racist, at least in college and medical school.  His political actions have shown that he doesn’t act like one now, but that racist past should have been brought out and dealt with politically.  And while some will argue that historic figures like Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black were actual members of the Ku Klux Klan; that was in the 1920’s (Black) and the 1940’s (Byrd) not the 1980’s. 

Others would argue that, like newly minted Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, these actions were done when he was young.  Kavanaugh was accused of sex crimes in high school and college but Northam was twenty-five years old, in medical school, when the black-face picture was taken. At what point is “adulthood” bestowed?

Then Northam, after apologizing for the picture, came back the next day to claim it really wasn’t him, then confessed to having appeared in black-face in at least one other event. He even went on to describe the difficulties in applying shoe polish as black-face, and seemed to be considering doing a Michael Jackson “moonwalk” in the press conference.

While his legislative actions show a progressive view of race, his words, even in the press conference, show that he still doesn’t understand the gravity of his actions as a younger man, and the impact they are having today.  It seems that he still regards them as somehow being “cute” or “funny.”

The process that the politician Northam is using is “awful.”  He allowed this albatross to hang around his neck, far into his political career, then when it was revealed, he apologized for it, then denied it, then made apparent light of his actions.  While these may be the words of a desperate man, trying to control damage, what it revealed is a man who continues to misunderstand the gravity of his actions.

And that is the real point: he still doesn’t get it, not in 1984, and not now in 2019 either.  And for this reason, his current actions:  Ralph Northam should resign.  He should let those who DO get it, get on with the work of governing and uniting Virginia.