Tag: blackface

Cancel Culture Claims Another: Virginia Military Institute Superintendent General Peay Resigns

Corinne Murdock

Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Superintendent, retired four-star Army General J.H. Binford Peay III (’62), resigned on Monday. Peay shared that Governor Ralph Northam prompted the resignation.
“On Friday, 23 October 2020, the Governor’s Chief of Staff conveyed that the Governor and certain legislative leaders had lost confidence in my leadership as Superintendent of Virginia Military Institute and desired my resignation.”

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District Attorney Funk Outs Himself in 1982 Yearbook Photo Posing With Confederate Flag

Jason M. Reynolds

The attack against Southerners appearing in old photos has now ensnared District Attorney General Glenn Funk, who revealed his photo appearance in an attempt to get ahead of the story, multiple media outlets report. WKRN reports that Funk, of the 20th Judicial District in Nashville, appeared in a 1982 Wake Forest University yearbook photo with the Kappa Alpha Order, who were posing with the Confederate flag. Funk issued this statement: Last week, I read media reports that Governor Bill Lee was a KA at Auburn in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Given the attention given to this fact, I feel compelled to disclose that when I was in college at Wake Forest 37 years ago, I was also a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. I went back and looked through my college annuals. In 1982, my picture appeared in a group photo in the yearbook with the Confederate flag prominently displayed. I was wrong to participate in divisive and hurtful behavior. I apologize for the hurt caused then and now. Last week Gannett dug up a 39-year-old university fraternity yearbook photo showing Gov. Bill Lee dressed in a Confederate uniform with other members of Kappa Alpha Order who were…

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Al Gore Says Ralph Northam Can Atone for Blackface Scandal By Opposing Gas Pipeline

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by Michael Bastasch   Former Vice President Al Gore said Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam can fulfill his “racial reconciliation” pledge by opposing the Atlantic Coast pipeline, which he called a “racist rip-off.” “This is an ideal opportunity for him to say, ‘I’ve seen the light,’” Gore said at an anti-pipeline town hall in a historically black part of Buckingham County, Virginia, as part of an “Environmental Justice Tour,” the AP reported. Gore appeared on stage with his daughter Karenna Gore, Rev. Dr. William Barber II, environmental activists and residents of Union Hill, a historically black neighborhood, who oppose the Atlantic Coast pipeline. Gore and climate activists see Northam’s recent blackface controversy as a way to turn him against the Atlantic Coast pipeline. Northam’s political future was thrown into doubt early in 2019 after his medical school yearbook photos surfaced, showing a picture of an individual in blackface and another in a KKK hood. Northam apologized for being in the photo, but, one day later, claimed he wasn’t in the photo amid calls for his resignation. He did, however, admit to wearing shoe polish for a dance contest in 1984. The embattled Democratic governor refused to resign, and wanted to…

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Keith Ellison Defends Virginia Governor Ralph Northam After Blackface Photo

Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison recently stated that he believes it would be best for Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) to stay in office. “If Virginia Governor Northam keeps his pledge to fight for racial reconciliation, I believe VA (and US) will be better served than if he just resigned. But let’s shape what ‘racial reconciliation’ looks like today,” Ellison wrote on Twitter Saturday. If Virginia governor Northam keeps his pledge to fight for racial reconciliation, I believe VA (and US) will be better served than if he just resigned. But let’s shape what ‘racial reconciliation’ looks like today. https://t.co/DM1CAMfXak — Keith Ellison (@keithellison) February 9, 2019 Ellison made the comments in response to an interview Northam gave in which he said he wants to focus the remainder of his term on racial equity. “It’s obvious from what happened this week that we still have a lot of work to do. There are still some deep wounds in Virginia, and especially in the area of equity,” Northam said. “There are ongoing inequities to access things like education, health care, mortgages, capital, entrepreneurship. And so this has been a real, I think, an awakening for Virginia. It has really raised the level…

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Virginia Governor Holds Firm, Will Not Quit Over Blackface Scandal

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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Sunday he has no intention of resigning, despite widespread calls for him to quit because of a racist picture on his personal page in a 1984 medical school yearbook and his use of black face to depict a pop music star. “I have thought about resigning, but I’ve also thought about what Virginia needs right now,” Northam told CBS News. “And I really think that I’m in a position where I can take Virginia to the next level. Virginia also needs someone who is strong, who has empathy, who has courage and who has a moral compass. And that’s why I’m not going anywhere.” Northam, a trained physician, added, “I’ve been in some very difficult situations. Life and death situations taking care of sick children. And right now Virginia needs someone that can heal. There’s no better person to do that than a doctor.” Northam is one of three officials, all Democrats, at the top of the government in Virginia, an Atlantic coastal state, currently engulfed in controversy. Two women have accused the state’s No. 2 official, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, of sexually assaulting them more than a decade ago, allegations he rejects, while the…

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Joy Behar Silent on Resurfaced ‘Beautiful African Woman’ Costume as Politicians Face Heat

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by Neetu Chandak   “The View” host Joy Behar has been quiet about her “beautiful African woman” costume since a 2016 clip resurfaced Wednesday as politicians and organizations are in hot water over blackface controversies. Behar went as a “beautiful African woman” for a Halloween party when she was 29-years-old. Behar also admitted to wearing makeup that was darker than her skin. The clip originally aired on May 13, 2016, according to Jezebel, which made comments about Behar’s costume choice that year. Critics pointed out that Megyn Kelly was ousted for questioning blackface as offensive behavior while Behar remains on the show. Megyn Kelly was fired from her show for asking a hypothetical question about blackface. Joy Behar actually wore blackface, and admitted it, and showed a picture of it on TV, yet she still has her job. https://t.co/dIJdoMmhmz — Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 7, 2019 “What is racist?” Kelly asked on her then NBC show Megyn Kelly Today. “You get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface on Halloween, or a black person that puts on white face for Halloween. That was okay when I was a kid as long as you were dressing…

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Virginia Attorney General Outs Himself for Wearing Blackface in College

Anthony Gockowski

Attorney General Mark Herring (D-VA) outed himself in a Wednesday morning statement by revealing that he dressed up in blackface when he was an “undergraduate in college.” “In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song. It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes—and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others—we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup,” Herring said in a statement. Herring has freely added himself to a growing list of embattled Democrats in the state. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) is trying to save his political career after a now-viral yearbook photo was leaked of him wearing blackface next to a person in a KKK robe. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D-VA) is fending off accusations that he forced a woman to perform oral sex on him at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. “This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct. That conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous…

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Pressure Mounts Against Northam to Resign After Racist Photo Revealed

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Calls are mounting for Virginia’s governor to step down from office after the emergence of a racist photo in which he appeared in his medical school yearbook more than 30 years ago. Ralph Northam apologized Friday for the “racist and offensive” costume seen on his 1984 medical school yearbook page. In a video statement, Northam said the photo does not reflect the person he is today. “I cannot change the decisions I made, nor can I undo the harm my behavior caused then and today,” he added. “But I accept responsibility for my past actions, and I am ready to do the hard work of regaining your trust.” The page features a photograph of a person in blackface and another in full Ku Klux Klan garb. The governor has indicated he is one of the people in the photograph but has not said which one. The Congressional Black Caucus and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus have urged him to step down. “Ralph Northam has had three decades to know better but only now does he acknowledge this racist act,” the Congressional Black Caucus posted on Twitter. “An apology now isn’t enough. He must resign.” The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus posted…

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UPDATE: NAACP Calls on Virginia Governor Northam to Resign After His Admission He Is In Med School Yearbook Photo: Is He in Black Face or KKK Robe?

Anthony Gockowski

UPDATE: Late Friday, the NAACP called on Northam to resign as Virginia Governor in this tweet: Black face in any manner is always racist and never okay. No matter the party affiliation, we can not stand for such behavior, which is why the @NAACP is calling for the resignation of Virginia Governor @RalphNortham — Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) February 2, 2019 Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, released a statement Friday evening confirming the authenticity of a photo unearthed by conservative news outlet Big League Politics and confirmed by the medical school he was attending at the time, that shows Northam dressed in either blackface or a KKK robe. In his statement, Northam said he is “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.” “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,” he said. “But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.” “I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the…

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