Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Saturday that he's "not the person in that photo," referring to a racist image of a man in blackface next to a man in a Ku Klux Klan costume that appeared on his 1984 medical school yearbook page.
Northam read a prepared statement in the Executive Mansion in Richmond, a day after he apologized for being in the photo. He said that after further reflection with his family and classmates, he has no recollection of the photo and believes he isn't either of the two men.
He said part of the reason he thinks that is, is that he vividly remembers another situation in which he blackened his face to portray Michael Jackson at a dance contest he won in San Antonio in 1984, after graduating from Eastern Virginia Medical School.
"You remember these things," he said.
The governor's denial wasn't enough for many, though, including members of his own administration and political party.
"It is no longer possible for Governor Northam to lead our Commonwealth and it is time for him to step down," said Attorney General Mark Herring.
The Virginia Black Caucus reiterated its call for Northam to resign.
"Yesterday we met with the Governor, looked him in the eye and expressed our deep sense of betrayal, pain, and disappointment," the group said in a statement. "Changing his public story today now casts further doubt on his ability to regain that trust.
"Our confidence in his ability to govern for the over 8 million Virginians has been eviscerated."
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is the second African-American elected to a statewide office in Virginia, issued a statement Saturday acknowledging Northam's "service to children, soldiers and constituents" but saying he, "cannot condone the actions from his past that, at the very least, suggest a comfort with Virginia's darker history of white supremacy, racial stereotyping and intimidation." Fairfax, who would become governor should Northam quit, did not call for the governor's resignation. "At this critical and defining moment in the history of Virginia and this nation, we need leaders with the ability to unite and help us rise to the better angels of our nature."
Northam said if he had dressed in blackface and posed next to someone in a KKK costume, he would have remembered that. And he was adamant about having never worn a Klan uniform.
He also said he hadn't seen the yearbook page until Friday, 35 years after it was issued, because he hadn't bought a copy at the time.
"This was a horrific photo on my page, with my name," he said when asked why he originally apologized Friday for appearing in it.
He said he remembered submitting three photos to the yearbook, but "where this other picture came from, I don't know."
Dr. John "Rob" Marsh, whom Northam mentioned during the press conference, was roommates with the governor during his first two years at EVMS. Both on military scholarships, the two lived in a $350-a-month, one-bedroom apartment downtown, a short walk from campus. Marsh said he slept on a bed in the living room, while Northam, who preferred more quiet for studying, had the bedroom.
Earlier Saturday, Marsh said Northam never said anything racist during their time together at the medical school. He has a single memory that he believes demonstrates the contrary.
Marsh had decorated his makeshift room like an Army base with three flags: American, Virginian and Vietnam P.O.W. He remembers another student, whom Marsh declined to name, coming over one day and asking why they also didn't have a Confederate flag.
"And Ralph said, 'Because that war is over,'" he said.
Marsh said he didn't know anything about the specific picture, nor did he have a copy of the yearbook because he graduated in 1983. But it seemed out of step with the man he knew then: a low-key, "benign" type, who didn't drink to excess.
Northam appeared to be focused on rallying the support of his party with calls earlier in the day. House Republicans, though, hadn't heard from him or his office since the photo surfaced, said Parker Slaybaugh, a spokesperson for the caucus, before the governor's news conference.
Northam has faced a torrent of criticism and calls for his resignation after a photo surfaced from decades ago that showed two people in racist costumes: One person is dressed in blackface, and another is wearing a full Ku Klux Klan uniform. The photo appeared in Northam's 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. On Friday, Northam apologized for appearing in the photo without saying which costume he was wearing.
The calls for Northam to resign hastened in the hours after he posted a recorded video Friday night saying he would serve out the rest of his term.
About a dozen protesters stood outside the governor's mansion Saturday morning, turning to the house at one point to shout in unison: "Blackface. No place." Jewel Gatling, a longtime supporter of Fairfax, said that if Northam had apologized earlier, knowing the photo existed, he could have been forgiven. Wearing a T-shirt featuring Fairfax on it, Gatling told the protesters, "We will not allow this in our state."
The small crowd included four members of the Portsmouth chapter of the NAACP. The group's president, James Boyd, said blackface was wrong and "intolerable."
"It's time for all of us to stand together and say, 'enough is enough,'" he said.
"This is about a sickness that exists in our state," said Louie Gibbs Jr., vice president of the chapter.
Virginia's Democratic Party continued to urge Northam to resign Saturday morning even after it became evident that he wouldn't.
"Governor Northam must end this chapter immediately, step down, and let Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax heal Virginia's wounds and move us forward," they said on Twitter.
The Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus said Friday that "the Ralph Northam we know is a pediatric neurologist, a dedicated public servant, and a committed husband and father. Nevertheless, it is with heavy hearts that we have respectfully asked him to step down." The statement noted Virginia's complicated past. "Black face was used to ridicule African Americans and the Klan was a source of terror and intimidation. The racism engendered by these images was real then and resurrected by these images today. We are beyond disappointed."
After meeting with Northam on Friday, Virginia's Black Legislative Caucus had made up its mind.
"We fully appreciate all that he has contributed to our Commonwealth. But given what was revealed today, it is clear that he can no longer effectively serve as Governor. It is time for him to resign, so that Virginia can begin the process of healing."
The Washington Post reported that the caucus was also concerned about a nickname that can be interpreted as a racial slur �� "Coonman" �� listed underneath Northam's picture in his Virginia Military Institute yearbook.
When asked about the nickname during Saturday's press conference, Northam said a couple of men had called him that and he didn't know why.
Add House Republican leaders and speaker Kirk Cox to the list who resisted calling for his resignation on Friday, "believing the gravity of the situation deserved prudence and deliberation," but did so Saturday morning.
"When the racist picture first emerged Friday, we were shocked and repulsed. The photo is disturbing and offensive, as unacceptable in 1984 as it is today," they wrote in a statement. "We agree with the powerful words of our colleagues in the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and believe that because of this photo the Governor has lost the confidence of the citizens he serves. While we respect the Governor's lifetime of service, his ability to lead and govern is permanently impaired and the interests of the Commonwealth necessitate his resignation."
L. Douglas Wilder, who was the first elected black governor of a U.S. state when he led Virginia from 1990 to 1994, didn't call for Northam to resign but said on Twitter: "It has never been right, in Virginia, nor anywhere else to participate in or condone such mockery or insensitive behavior and for that Gov. Northam should be criticized. This is not about politics or personal relationship, this is about government 'of the people, for the people and by the people' _ ALL of the people," he said. "The choice of his continuing in office is his to make."
