This story just gets better and better! (or worse and worse, depending on your perspective)
Let’s recap real quick.
A week ago, Ralph Northam was not a household name. He was VA’s Governor, but beyond that no one really knew or cared about him.
Then earlier this week he made headlines for describing what many considered to be abortion AFTER birth (yes you read that right). Details here.
Then news broke of an old medical school Yearbook where it was alleged he was in either blackface or a KKK hood.
He initially admitted the photo and apologized.
See it here:
Then in an abrupt about-face, he changed his tune today and said it WASN'T him in the photo after all.
Oopsie!
Twitter did not treat his backtrack kindly:
But now comes news that a SECOND Yearbook scandal has emerged.
Another photo?
No, this time it was what was printed.
Below his name it says his nickname was "Coonman".
For those who don't know, "coon" is considered a racially damaging epithet for black people.
Twitter roasted him, and this was my favortite one:
NBC's News10 confirmed the story:
A page from Northam's yearbook at the Virginia Military Institute listed one of his nicknames as "Coonman," a Jim Crow-era racial slur.
VMI's 1981 yearbook shows the picture of Northam with "Goose, Coonman" listed under his name.
This yearbook photo comes to light after his medical school yearbook photo in 1984 shows a picture of two men, one in blackface and another in a KKK robe.
Northam released a statement Friday night, saying he is one of the two men.
There are now numerous calls from both parties for Northam's resignation.
According to a Breitbart report, Northam has confirmed that "Coonman" was indeed his nickname:
Virginia Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam said on Saturday that he was not sure why friends called him “coonman” in college.
Northam became inflamed in controversy on Friday after a medical school yearbook photo emerged showing two individuals in blackface and Ku Klux Klan (KKK) attire on his page. Northam took responsibility for the controversial photo but said on Saturday that he believes that he does not appear in the picture and does not have any plans to resign.
CBS News uncovered a page from Northam’s yearbook at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) that had nicknames under his name, which includes “Coonman,” a racial slur.
During the press conference, Northam said that many friends often called him “Goose” due to his changing voice; however, he does not know why some college friends called him “Coonman.”
“I don’t know what their intent was with that,” Northam said during the press conference.
Northam said that he never wore a KKK robe, nor has he ever been a member of the KKK.
Northam did admit to darkening his face with shoe polish for a dance contest in the 1980s.
“That same year, I did participate in a dance contest in San Antonio, in which I darkened my face as part of a Michael Jackson costume… It is because my memory of that episode is so vivid that I truly do not believe I am in the picture in my yearbook,” Northam said.
People have been crushing him on Twitter all day long:
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