Virginia Attorney General Says He Wore Blackface In College To Look Like Kurtis Blow

This comes shortly after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam admitted — and then denied — being in a yearbook picture of someone in blackface and someone in a Ku Klux Klan robe that surfaced last week.

A Virginia Democratic attorney general has admitted to wearing blackface during a college party.

READ: Blackface Or KKK: Virginia Governor Admits To Appearing In Racist Yearbook Photo

Mark Herring recently issued a statement saying he wore brown makeup and a wig in 1980 during a party at the University of Virginia. According to Bloomberg, Herring said he and two friends dressed up to look like rappers they listened to, including Kurtis Blow.

“It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes – and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others – we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup,” Herring said.

“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,” he continued. “It was really a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then.”

Herring’s statement comes shortly after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam admitted — and then denied — being in a yearbook picture of someone in blackface and someone in a Ku Klux Klan robe that surfaced last week. The attorney general urged Northam to resign following its release.

“The photo, the conduct it captures, and the racist imagery invoked are all indefensible,” Herring said. “The photo would be profoundly offensive in any circumstances, but it is also shocking and deeply disappointing to know that it pictures Governor Northam.”

Herring plans to run for governor in 2021.

Source: Bloomberg