Ralph Northam, the Democratic governor of the US state of Virginia, changed his story Saturday about appearing in a racist 1984 yearbook photo and insisted he will not resign from office.
Northam held a press conference to say that he, in fact, was not one of the men in a photo from his university yearbook depicting two people – one in black face, the other dressed in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood.
“In the hours since I made my statement yesterday, I reflected with my family and classmates from the time and affirmed my conclusion that I am not the person in that photo,” he told reporters, a day after saying he had appeared in the picture without specifying which of the individuals he was.
Northam added that while he had not appeared in the photo, “many actions that we rightfully recognize as abhorrent today were commonplace” and he was not surprised such material made its way to the yearbook.
He said he did not know why it appeared on his page, adding: “I had nothing to do with the preparation of the yearbook, nor did I buy one.
“And so this was the first time – yesterday evening was the first time I saw this photo. It was shocking and it was horrific.”
The governor, who began…
