While Mount asks Ralph Northam to resign, Virginians get a second chance

Although many Virginians may have been disappointed by Mr. Northam, many of them said that they were not surprised.

The first African slaves introduced to this country crossed the shores of Virginia 400 years ago. The Commonwealth pbaded the laws of the Jim Crow era to prevent interracial marriage. Rather than following the Supreme Court's order to send black and white children to the same schools, the state closed its schools for several years in the 1950s to avoid compliance. And just two years ago, white supremacists marched in Charlottesville to protest violently against the removal of a confederate statue.

Northam won 80 percent of the votes in predominantly black communities, according to Nguyen. Although his call for the removal of Confederate monuments as a result of Charlottesville was able to strengthen his support for the minority, the racist photo on the page of his directory shows that he is not at the same time. Sheltered from the deeply rooted racism of the state, said several Virginians.

"Here they will play with you for a little while, then they will pull the trigger and let you know that you are and will always be lower," said Wendy Boyd-Sealy, who is black and lived in Norfolk. , where 42% of residents are African-American since 2003.

Nevertheless, Ms. Boyd-Sealy, 59, said she thought Northam should have a second chance, because people were too sensitive, that Mr. Northam should not be judged solely on this photo and that He was probably just a product of his environment.

Beverly McDonald, owner of the Norfolk branch of soul food restaurant Croaker's Spot, said she was torn apart. If Northam is currently defending black communities, the past may not be so bad, "said McDonald, who is black.

Linda Williams and her husband, James, were already angry with Northam because of his support for the right to abortion. The photo, they said, only confirmed for him that he was not fit to run the state. It was a vestige of a time when they had said that they would have left earlier in the past.