Virginia politics have been in turmoil over the last week due to serious allegations regarding both racism and sexual assault against Democratic Governor Ralph Northam and Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. A 1984 medical school yearbook picture on Northam’s page of two men who were dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit and in blackface, one of whom is largely believed to be Northam, has caused fellow Democrats to encourage Northam to step down. Northam, shortly after apologizing for the picture, then denied that he was one of the two men in the photo, only to admit after that he dressed up in blackface later to impersonate Michael Jackson. Despite this controversy, Northam has so far refused to step down. His potential replacement would be Justin Fairfax, who shortly after the blackface controversy faced allegations that he raped fellow Duke University student Meredith Watson in 2000 and sexually assaulted Vanessa Tyson in 2004. To further the chaos, Attorney General Mark Herring then admitted that he too had dressed in blackface.
The Virginia political controversy resembles a long list of political figures who have faced both racist and sexual assault allegations, such as President Donald Trump, Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh and United States Senator Al Franken. Because of these allegations against political figures, even the discussion of race and sexual assault allegations can be partisan. The discussion about Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegations were very partisan, as almost all Republican senators chose to ignore the allegations to further their political ambition of confirming a conservative justice, while almost all Democratic senators did the opposite. Americans first need to realize that these allegations are not a political issue, and party politics need to be eliminated from these discussions. Regardless of what party individuals identify with, when it comes to the topic of race or sexual assault, any personal ambitions for the success of one party should be ignored.
It is up to Americans and Ralph Northam specifically to decide the statement that can be made. In recent times, we as a society have put more effort into taking a stand against racism and sexual assault, as seen by the #MeToo movement. Democratic politicians must first put party politics aside and continue treating Ralph Northam and Justin Fairfax the same way they treated Brett Kavanaugh and Donald Trump. If Ralph Northam wants to continue this trend of holding leaders accountable for racism and sexual assault, he must step down. Justin Fairfax will continue to defend his innocence amongst these allegations, but fellow Democratic leaders and Americans must treat Fairfax the same way they did with Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh and Al Franken, and push him to resign, proving that American can truly put party politics aside and stand for what they believe in.
