Asked about an apparent racial epithet that was listed as one of his nicknames in his undergraduate college yearbook from the Virginia Military Institute, Gov. Ralph Northam said he was unsure how it appeared there. | AP Photo/Steve Helber Politics Northam appearance at College of William & Mary event canceled

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will no longer attend the College of William & Mary's Charter Day and inauguration ceremony Friday amid a controversy over a racist photo unearthed in the governor's medical school yearbook, the university announced Monday.

William & Mary President Katherine Rowe said in a statement on Monday that the university conferred with the governor's office and decided Northam would not take part in the event. The school president, who was sworn in to her position by Northam in July 2018, called Northam "a welcoming ambassador for the Commonwealth" of Virginia.


"However, under the circumstances, it has become clear that the Governor’s presence would fundamentally disrupt the sense of campus unity we aspire to and hope for with this event," she said in the statement.

Northam came under fire over the weekend after the discovery of a photo published on his page in his 1984 medical school yearbook from Eastern Virginia Medical School depicting a man in blackface and another dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes. The photo has prompted widespread calls from prominent Democrats for Northam to resign.

The governor conceded on Friday that the photo was of him and apologized for it. But during a news conference on Saturday, Northam backtracked and told reporters he knew he was not in the photo, adding that on a different occasion he had darkened his face with shoe polish to look like pop star Michael Jackson for a talent show performance.

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Asked about an apparent racial epithet that was listed as one of his nicknames in his undergraduate college yearbook from the Virginia Military Institute, Northam said he was unsure how it appeared there.

Rowe said she was "appalled and saddened by the revelation of the racist image," adding that type of behavior "has no place in civil society — not 35 years ago, not today."

"The behavior depicted in that photo is a painful reminder of the hate, divisiveness and racism that so many in this country have sought for generations to overcome," she said in the statement.

Although she did not call on the governor to resign, Rowe called on Virginia leaders to "seek the best path forward" to restore trust within the community.

"My thoughts are with the leaders of our Commonwealth as they seek the best path forward to rebuild trust," she said. "My focus, however, is on the William & Mary community: on reckoning with our own history with humility and dedication, and on joining you in the continuing work of ensuring our university community is welcoming and respectful of all."

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