Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam apologized Friday for an offensive photo on his medical school yearbook page that showed two men, one wearing blackface and another wearing Ku Klux Klan robes.

Northam, a Democrat, did not clarify which man was him in the photo from the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook.



(Courtesy Eastern Virginia Medical School)

“Earlier today, a website published a photograph of me from my 1984 medical school yearbook that is clearly racist and offensive,” he said in a statement.

“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” he said.

Northam said the photo does not accurately represent his current views or the values he has fought for during his career.

He also acknowledged “it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused.”

“The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their Governor,” his statement said.

The Republican Party of Virginia has called on him to resign if he was either of the two men in the photo.