Did An Incident of Blackface Effectuate Change for Black Virginians? The Answer Is A Resounding YES!
By Natalie H. Rozzell
Ralph Shearer Northam was elected as the 73rd governor of the state of Virginia in 2018. Over a year later, an old picture of the governor in blackface surfaced in his medical school yearbook. He did not confirm it was him and a subsequent investigation proved inconclusive, but it changed the way Northam decided to govern from then on. “I made it very clear from when this happened, that racial equity was going to be a top priority for the remainder of our administration,” said the governor. And he made good on this promise. In particular, he worked with Black lawmakers to address laws that most affected Blacks. With Black Virginians representing 55% of the incarcerated population, yet only being 20% of the state’s population, Northam took a progressive stance and made it his mission to move Virginia forward during his time as governor.
Since then Blacks rallied around Northam after the discovery of his misstep and amid calls for his resignation. He made it a point to put Black Virginians first by breaking decades of outdated and racist strongholds, laws, and policies. For instance, Virginia has become the first state in the South to abolish the death penalty. The commonwealth has also passed strong police reform measures, such as limiting the use of chokeholds by officers and adopting “Breonna’s Law” named after Breonna Taylor from Louisville, KY who was killed in a late-night raid. This measure bans police from executing no-knock search warrants. In an effort to reduce racial profiling, minor traffic violations were downgraded to secondary offenses. Offenses that were once considered primary like having tinted windows, dangling objects from the rearview mirror or having noisy car exhaust systems have been lowered in the justice system. Many of these so-called offenses were used as a basis to find other crimes mainly on Blacks, studies find. Along with prohibiting police from initiating searches based on the smell of marijuana, many related drug laws were minimized as well. Possessing small amounts of marijuana is now a civil infraction with a simple fine of $25 as opposed to the previous sentencing of decades in prison. Enacting the “CAREN Act” also puts harsher consequences on folks who falsely lodge complaints on others due to racial bias.
Recently, Gov. Northam granted the first ever posthumous pardon for seven Black men known as the “Martinsville Seven”. Accused of raping a white woman in 1949, they were not given proper due process and were executed in what is still know as the largest mass execution in Virginia history. “At the time of these executions, the superintendent of the Virginia prison system wrote a letter in 1950 that underscored these disparities by stating that there were no white men on record ever executed for rape in Virginia.” Yet it took only two hours for the court to deliberate, declare them guilty, and sentence the seven men to death. After granting the pardon, the governor’s office released a statement that “Governor Northam has granted a record-breaking 604 pardons since his term began - more pardons than the previous nine governors combined.”
Along with requesting the removal of many Confederate statues across the commonwealth as well as the renaming of streets and parks, Northam created the Commission on African American History Education. Its main purpose is to review how history is taught in Virginia schools and to ensure the inclusion of Black history and how racial disparities continue to influence and affect our communities today. The governor has also appointed Virginia’s first-ever Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Janice Underwood, the new Director, is strategizing with the members of the administration to address systemic inequities in state government practices among other initiatives.
As the Virginia gubernatorial race approached in November 2021, Northam’s approval started to wane thus putting more pressure on all Virginia Democrats. A mixture of opposition to Northam’s progressive record, disapproval of President Biden and other Democrats, pandemic fatigue and specific vaccine mandates for state workers have caused the governor to have a disapproval rating of 45%, the highest since the blackface incident in 2019. Although he weathered a heavy storm of calls for resignation and lost some of the confidence of his constituents, Governor Ralph Northam started on the road to atonement by asking Blacks a simple question - “What can I do for you?” Most politicians provide “lip service” only, but he attempted to follow through and provide tangible policies, laws, appointments and commissions. He pledged $300 million to Virginia HBCUs, decriminalized marijuana, and even repatriated the historic gravestones of Blacks that were previously dumped into the Potomac river. While some can say it is only symbolic, most of his work has and will affect the lives of Black Virginians significantly. Black Virginians must continue the fight for change with the incoming governor no matter what political party he belongs to. Virginia was attempting to atone for its treatment of Blacks, especially Freedmen and we must never let them forget what was done to us from the time we set foot on this ground in 1619 up until today. VOTE! ACT! ORGANIZE! WRITE A LETTER! Do your part for Virginia and this country as a whole to move our communities forward and to achieve racial equity and justice
