“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,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement Friday evening. “This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.”
Northam issued his statement hours after the photograph, which was included on his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page, became public. Neither person in the black-and-white photograph was identified, and Northam, who was elected Virginia’s governor in 2017, did not confirm which costume he had worn.
The Republican Party of Virginia condemned the photograph before Northam issued his statement.
“Racism has no place in Virginia,” Jack Wilson, the state party chairman, said in a statement. “These pictures are wholly inappropriate. If Governor Northam appeared in blackface or dressed in a KKK robe, he should resign immediately.”
But Virginia Democrats defended Northam and said he should not quit.
“The picture was in extremely poor taste, no question about that, but his life since then has been anything but,” said Richard Saslaw, the Democratic leader of the state Senate. “He’s had a career of helping people of all races.”
If Northam were to resign, Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax would assume the governor’s office.
But in his statement Friday, Northam signaled that he did not intend to leave office.
“I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused,” he said. “I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their governor.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.