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Va. capital thrown into disarray over a racist photo in Gov. Northam's yearbook

As calls mount for his resignation, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, the man who would replace him, denies allegation from same website

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Governor Ralph Northam met with cabinet members and senior staff members as he contemplated his immediate future.  

The racist photo from his medical school yearbook page has thrown the state capital into disarray. Protests outside the Governor's mansion have intensified and so has confusion at the state capital.  

RELATED: Gov. Northam meets with staff to figure out next steps

A worker at the Capital described the situation that turned a well-liked governor into a pariah as mind-boggling.

"What do we want? Resignation! When do we want it? Now!," Dozens of protesters chanted next to the Governor's Mansion.  

Nearly every political ally at the state and national level has called for Northam's resignation. That number grew over the weekend since a racist photo surfaced from his 1984 medical school yearbook page showing a man in blackface next to another person in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

After apologizing on Friday and saying that he was in that photo, Northam said this on Saturday, "This was not me in that picture. That was not Ralph Northam. I hope that they would accept that and they would take my word." 

The Saturday news conference was supposed to be damage control—it did the opposite. Not only did his story change, but he admitted that in 1984, he did put on black face in a dance contest to look like Michael Jackson.

"And I used just a little bit of shoe polish on my face, or on my cheeks, and the reason I used a very little bit is because I don't know if anyone's ever tried that but you cannot get shoe polish off," said Northam. 

That perplexing statement made it on protest posters and into speeches.

"When we have a governor that stands in blackface, we cannot pretend to act like this is not a racist state," said a man at the protest. 

Former Governor Terry McAuliffe, who was a key force behind Northam's gubernatorial campaign, joined the chorus of resignation calls.  

On CNN over the weekend, McAuliffe said, "Instinctively, you know if you put black paint on your face. You know if you put a hood on. And SOL if it isn't you, you come out immediately this is not me, so, I cannot understand what's going on."

Shocked Democrats say that Northam lacks the understanding of the gravity of the situation and has lost the moral authority to lead. The Republican leader of the House of Delegates, House Speaker Kirk Cox said lawmakers do no plan to impeach Northam.

RELATED: 'What’s the objective?' | Howard University professor weighs in on Gov. Northam's 'blackface' yearbook photo

"It really does call for mental and physical invalidation. That's what it was meant to do...that's a very high standard. So I think that's why we had called for his resignation. We hope that's what the Governor does. I think that would obviously be less pain for everyone," said Cox. 

However, another potential controversy emerged concerning the man who would replace Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. He strongly denies an unverified sexual assault allegation reported on the same conservative website that broke Northam story.

"The allegation is completely false...it's uncorroborated. And the fact that they would run a story on an uncorroborated allegation, from now, 15 years ago, tells you exactly what the smears are all about," said Fairfax. 

WUSA9 has been able to corroborate the allegations. 

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