Embattled Virginia leader wants to focus on racial equity

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam talks during an interview at the Governor's Mansion. Photos / AP

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, in his first interview since a racist photo from his medical school yearbook came to light a week ago, has promised to pursue racial reconciliation.

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 realising that donning blackface is offensive.

"It's been a horrific week for Virginia. A lot of individuals across Virginia have been hurt," Northam said in the 1813 Executive Mansion.

He said he is monitoring the situation involving Democratic Lieutenant-Governor 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. Lieutenant-Governor Fairfax has suggested and called for an investigation, 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 February 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 that 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 healthcare, housing and transportation, and to begin reporting suggestions this week.

"It's obvious from what happened this week that we still have a lot of work to do. There are still some very deep wounds in Virginia, and especially in the area of equity," he said.

Ralph Northam has vowed to stay in office.

"There are ongoing inequities to access to things like education, healthcare, mortgages, capital, entrepreneurship. And so this has been a real, I think , an awakening for Virginia. It has really raised the level of awareness for racial issues in Virginia. And so we're ready to learn from our mistakes."

Northam has been in seclusion all week, using tunnels to shuttle between the mansion and the nearby building where he has an office. He has met African-American legislators and faith and community leaders, and has begun reading up on race - The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nahesi Coates, a few chapters of Roots by Alex Haley. He said he has reflected on his own origins and tried to confront his lack of understanding.

Northam said he has had painful conversations this week with black lawmakers - who continue to call publicly for him to resign - about the issue of blackface, and why it was wrong for him to darken his face to portray Michael Jackson in a San Antonio dance contest in 1984, as he has admitted doing.

"The things that I did back in medical school and - and - in San Antonio were insensitive and I have learned since that they were very offensive. We learn from our mistakes and I'm a stronger person," Northam said.

Asked later what Northam meant by saying "medical school and San Antonio", spokeswoman Ofirah Yheskel said he misspoke - that he meant in medical school in San Antonio, where he did his residency.

Just think—almost one week ago, Lt Gov Justin Fairfax seemed to be hours away from being sworn in as VA Governor, with just about everyone calling for Gov. Northam to resign. Now Northam says he’s staying, and Fairfax may well be on the way out. #CommonwealthofChaos

— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) February 8, 2019

Northam said he had been especially affected by a conversation with a black lawmaker, whom he declined to name, on the topic of blackface. He said he learned about the history of minstrel shows, where white people mocked black people "and exaggerated their characteristics and mannerisms."

"And the main point that this person told me is that at the end of the day, the white person - just as I was the white person that dressed up as an African-American dancer - at the end of the day we can take that makeup off and go back to being white," but a black person continues to live in that skin and all that it represents.

Another black lawmaker, who he also declined to name, made a powerful point about white privilege, Northam said: That a white person who makes a mistake gets a second chance, while a black person might not. "That really helped put things in perspective for me to better understand why someone of white privilege has the opportunities that they have when an African-American . . . doesn't," he said.

Northam said the humbling week and the late-in-life conversations about race have made him determined to refocus his governorship, but it seemed plain that he is just beginning to think through what that might mean.

Always cautious and low-key, Northam expressed no desire for radical action. Asked whether he felt liberated by the prospect of atoning for his mistakes, Northam quickly responded: "No question about that."

One of Trump’s many legacies is teaching American elected officials that resignation is optional, the news cycle is fleeting, and shame is a choice.

— Matt Ford (@fordm) February 8, 2019

But his first example of action was modest.

"First of all what I plan to do . . . is to make sure that we have sensitivity training - in our Cabinet, in our agencies. I also plan to reach out to our colleges and universities and talk about sensitivity training. Even into the K-through-12 age range, that's very important."

He said he tasked his Cabinet "to think over the weekend how we could change and make new policy, how we could reshape Virginia through their Cabinet positions."

For example, he said, Virginia has a serious issue with infant and maternal mortality - "we've talked about it, now it's time to take action."

Expanding Medicaid last year was a good start, he said, but state government needs to be aggressive about enrolling residents.

Northam said he has talked with Commerce Secretary Brian Ball about boosting affordable housing, fostering entrepreneurship among minorities and taking a look at whether minority-owned businesses are getting full access to state contracts.

He wants more resources for public transit to expand access to transportation, he said.

Disapprove among non-whites is substantially lower than I would expect. https://t.co/PQlzyG4Pyq

— Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) February 8, 2019

Republicans and Democrats think different groups are discriminated against. https://t.co/dFz2D9Zu76 pic.twitter.com/m0oiEsKzVQ

— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) February 9, 2019