Less than a week after a photo of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) allegedly posing in blackface during his medical school days in 1984 surfaced online, another high-ranking official in the Commonwealth is admitting to similar wrongdoing.
The Associated Press reports that Democratic Attorney General (AG) Mark Herring revealed Wednesday that he too donned blackface during his undergraduate years at the University of Virginia (UVA) in 1980. Per the news site, AG Herring's reasoning behind the racist act was because he wanted to look like a rapper.
In a statement posted to his official Twitter account, AG Herring expressed regret for his past decision and claimed it was a "onetime occurrence."
"This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct," a portion of his statement read. "That conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others. It was really a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then."Please see my statement below. pic.twitter.com/FBDcgxHOq9
— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) February 6, 2019
Herring, who is third in succession to serve in the highest office of the Commonwealth, told The Washington Post he plans to run for governor in 2021. In the days following Governor Northam's blackface scandal, the former state senator called on him to resign.
There's no word on whether Herring will elect to do the same in the wake of his admission.Mark Herring, who wants to succeed Ralph Northam as governor, now wants him to resign. Remains to be seen whether he would decline to run against Justin Fairfax, who would be allowed to run for a full term in 2021 pic.twitter.com/uhQE57yz9Z
— Fenit Nirappil (@FenitN) February 2, 2019
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