An independent investigation into a racist photograph on the yearbook page of Virginia governor Ralph Northamhas ended with no conclusive findings.
In February of this year, a photograph featured on Mr Northam’s 1984 yearbook page from East Virginia Medical School showed a man in blackface smiling next to presumably a man in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.
Mr Northam initially appeared to take ownership of the photograph, saying he was “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.” It was never confirmed whether this statement referred to Mr Northam being in black face or in the KKK outfit.
The day after releasing this statement, the governor released another statement retracting the admission, saying that “it was definitely not me” in the photograph.
Now, nearly four months after the governors’ constituents demanded action for their governor’s past, an investigation conducted by McGuireWoods has failed to reach a definite conclusion on whether or not the governor appears in the photograph.
In a 55-page report released Wednesday, McGuireWoods describes interviewing classmates, members of the 1984 yearbook staff, and employees of the factory that manufactured the yearbook. They also spoke to current students and officials at the medical school.
“With respect to the photograph on Governor Northam’s personal page, we could not conclusively determine the identity of either individual depicted in the Photograph,” the report reads. “The Governor himself has made inconsistent public statements in this regard. No individual that we interviewed has told us from personal knowledge that the Governor is in the Photograph, and no individual with knowledge has come forward to us to report that the Governor is in the Photograph.”
The report also notes that it was unable to determine whether or not the photograph was placed on Mr Northam’s page by accident.
Following the yearbook revelation, Virginia’s Attorney General Mark Herring apologised for wearing blackface in college.
In the same timeframe, the state’s Lieutenant Governor, Justin Fairfax, was also accused of sexual assault by two women. He denied both claims.
Mr Northam, Mr Herring, and Mr Fairfax all remain in office.
