WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — "Certainly the intent was racist,” said Dr. Greg Carr referring to the image unearthed from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's 1984 yearbook entry.
Carr is the Howard University Department of Afro-American Studies Chair. He answered some questions on Monday with WUSA9 on the topic of "blackface" and how we should address the issue moving forward.
When asked whether he thought Northam should resign over it, Carr answered, “It’s complicated.”
Carr spoke to WUSA9 in a live Facebook conversation about the matter. Part of the discussion, he said, includes answering the question: “What’s the objective?” He questions the group that unearthed Northam’s yearbook page and what their intentions are. He’s also analyzing what Northam has done for Virginia as Governor.
At one point, Carr said, “How do we match what you did with what you are doing with your life and that's where I think the right wing is completely disingenuous. Because nobody is calling for the true Xenophobes in this country, who are in one political party mostly, they're not calling for them to resign. And they're not blacking their faces. They're just simply implementing policies that are harmful to non-white people and the poor. I think – it's a difficult thing. But the other thing is once we set that bar it becomes very easy for people who are drawing false equivalences, to do what I think is happening in this case – use those false equivalencies to score political points …”
If Northam does resign, one thing Carr did say, is that he'd like to see Justin Fairfax task Northam with leading a coalition to address these very important social political issues.
Fairfax is currently Virginia’s Lt. Governor and would assume Northam’s role as Governor, should he step down.
Click here to watch the live Facebook discussion or watch the video below.