Governor Ralph Northam to resign. It follows a Bizarre Press Conference today in which northam insisted despite the apology he issued yesterday, he is not one of the two people pictured in this racist yearbook photo from 1984 showing someone in blackface and another in kkk garb. But with todays denial also came an admission that one time he did darken his face with shoe polish, he says, to resemble Michael Jackson during a dance contest. When i was confronted with the images yesterday, i was appalled that they appeared on my page, but i believe then and now that i am not either of the people in that photo. I stand by my statement of apology to the many virginians who were hurt by seeing this content on a yearbook page that belongs to me. It is disgusting. It is offensive. It is racist, and it was my responsibility to recognize and prevent it from being published in the first place. My belief that i did not wear that costume or attend that party stems in part from my clear memory of other mistakes i made in this same period of my life. That same year, i did participate in a dance contest in san antonio in which i darkened my face as part of a Michael Jackson costume. I look back now and regret that i did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that. I want to read you the statement now from virginias two Democratic Senators and from virginias senior house democrat. I quote, after we watched his press conference today, we called Governor Northam to tell him that we no longer believe he can effectively serve as governor of virginia and that he must resign. Governor northam has served the people of the commonwealth faithfully for many years, but the events of the past 24 hours have inflicted immense pain and irrevocably broken the trusts virginians must have in their leaders. He must step down and allow the commonwealth to begin healing. Cnns jessica dean is outside the Governors Mansion. Senators ted cruz and mark warner, congressman bobby scott, this just adds to a whole pile of elected leaders, democrats calling for northams resignation. Any sign right now that the governor is really feeling that pressure . Reporter well, there certainly are a lot of calls, and as the night has gone on, that statement you just reads with incredibly significant to hear from those three men, two of them former governors themselves. It takes us back to the press conference that was earlier today. It went on for nearly an hour with Governor Northam trying to explain his position on this, saying that he thinks he could move forward and build back earn back the trust of virginians. He also talked about, as you mentioned, the darkening of his face to dance in a dance competition. Listen to this exchange. You think well see a meaningful difference between you in the Michael Jackson face paint and the blackface . Is that a meaningful distinction . Thats up to them. You know, if everything is in sound bites these days, but i really do believe that both of them are wrong. But theres a contrast between the blackface and someone standing there in a ku klux klan outfit and be dressed up in a Michael Jackson costume for a dance contest. And, again, theyre both wrong, but i would hope people would see the contrast. Reporter and whats important to take away from all of this is before that press conference, there were some statewide elected democrats, big names that were holding out, not yet calling for his resignation. Well, following that press conference, we heard from the senators and also the congressman. We also heard from virginias first elected africanamerican governor, the first elected africanamerican governor in the united states, doug wilder. I want to read you what he tweeted just within the last hour. He said, i stated earlier that Governor Northams continuing in office was his choice to make. It is difficult for anyone to conclude that he has any other choice than to resign after watching that press conference is what he said. And so you have former governor wilder coming out, and then you hear from the two senators, former governors, and also the congressman. We learned a little bit more about the behind the scenes of that statement coming out. Cnn being told by a democrat with knowledge of their conversations that the three of them had been privately talking with the governor, encouraging him to step down over the last 24 hours. Thats why they had not come out publicly and called for his resignation. They went back to him after this press conference, were talking to him again. If he was willing to step down tonight or tomorrow, they were going to let him do that. He said that he wouldnt, gave no indication. That is when their patience ran out and they put out that statement. Ana. Jessica, theres also this other issue of nicknames listed under a yearbook photo of northam from 1981. What can you tell us about that . Reporter so thats referring to this racially insensitive nickname that was under the governors photo in his College Yearbook. He was asked about that today multiple times, and his answer for that was that it was two people who called him that and that he didnt know why they called him that and why it was in that yearbook. That was pretty much his answer on that. All right. Jessica dean, thank you very much. Joining us now is the chair of the congressional black caucus, congresswoman karen bass of california. Congresswoman, your caucus earlier called on northam to resign. Did he say anything today to change your mind . No. He just made it worse. The idea hes going to come out yesterday and say that he was in the picture, today deny it, and then on top of it to say that he hopes that people would make a distinction between wearing blackface and imitating jackson and because he wasnt standing next to someone in the klan, he is completely tone deaf. Then to say that his nickname of coonman, he doesnt know where that came from or how that appeared. This was not a 16 or 17yearold boy. This is a person who graduated medical school in the early 1980s when there was a tremendous amount of activity around Jesse Jacksons campaign, the antiapartheid movement. It was not the 30s, the 40s, or the 50s. So it is inexcusable. I think he absolutely should resign and clearly hes lost all support. Im glad you point out because northam made the argument that blackface wasnt viewed in 1984 the same way it is now. Im glad you point out that 1984 wasnt all that long ago. Lets listen to what he said. While i did not appear in this photo, i am not surprised by its appearance in the evms yearbook. In the place and time where i grew up, many actions that we rightfully recognize as abhorrent today were commonplace. That is just a lie. I am sorry, but that is a lie. In 1984, there was a tremendous amount of activity and enthusiasm and excitement over the possibility of the first africanamerican president. There is no way in the world he can say that he didnt know better. Now, i also question both schools as well. You know, how inappropriate it was for them to even allow those kind of photographs in a yearbook. But right now it was his responsibility. He took responsibility yesterday. He retracted it today. But, you know, the other thing i think is that why didnt he come forward years ago . Since he has such great relations in the community, why didnt he sit down with black clergy and say, you know what, i did something when i was younger. It was really stupid. Im sorry. If no one had discovered this, he would have continued on. In a way, its like he hid this and only acknowledged it when he was exposed. No excuse. So this was 35 years ago. Clearly unacceptable. But when does somebody deserve a Second Chance . What would allow northam to move beyond this . Well, you know what . I mean he kind of had an opportunity today, and i think that he made it absolutely worse today. But in this environment that we have lived in, in the last two years, where we have the leadership of our country essentially, you know, not objecting if not promoting policies that have unleashed a level of racism in this country that we havent seen in a long time. This is not the time period to allow this to continue, and if he is sincere about the state of virginia, then he should allow the state of virginia to heal by stepping down. That is the only dignified thing to do. I know how personal this is to you. When you talk about it in the sense of what this means to the party, africanamericans reliably vote democrat. Do you think the Democratic Party deserves that support, that the party has earned africanamerican support . Well, you know, i mean we have basically a twoparty system in our country, period. And if youre going to compare the Democratic Party with the republican party, absolutely the Democratic Party deserves the support of africanamericans. Now, having said that, that doesnt mean that africanamericans should not hold the Democratic Party accountable, and i am glad that every aspect of the Democratic Party leadership is on the same page calling for him to step down. If northam resigns, hell be replaced by Lieutenant Governor justin fairfax. Fairfax would be the second black governor in virginias history. How significant is that . I think that is very significant. I think its very appropriate. You know, again, i mean the state of virginia has a day in which they celebrate robert e. Lee. Robert e. Lee before Martin Luther king holiday. You know, the governor came out very strong after charlottesville talking about getting rid of confederate monuments, and then he backtr k backtracked on that. So i think it would be extremely appropriate. I know that the Lieutenant Governor is very, very popular in the state, and i think it would be a tremendous step toward healing for him to take over. It should be governor fairfax at this point. Do you see any path forward in which northam is able to stay in office and govern effectively . I really dont. No, i really dont. How could you possibly trust him . And just imagine, you know, the africanamerican elected officials in that legislative caucus, our two members, these are people that new him for years and years. Can you imagine the sense of betrayal that they feel . How could he possibly have credibility to govern . Yesterday he was in the picture. Today he wasnt. But, oops, i did blackface, but doing blackface as Michael Jackson is completely different. Hes lost credibility. What does a picture like that do to you . When you see those images, how does that make you feel as a black woman . I mean honestly, its painful, but it makes you just want to have a big sigh because how many years, how many decades, how many centuries do we have to continue going through this . This is why it is so important the leadership of our country needs to lead in a way that heals. And unfortunately thats not the situation that were in right now. So if this was just about the governor, that would be one thing. But just think about it. A week before the last election, we had four acts of domestic terrorism, and not each one, but almost each one of those acts was racially motivated. What about the africanamericans that were killed in kentucky, the man wanted to go to a church, couldnt get there. A couple of days later, the massacre in the synagogue. Three days after that, the yoga studio. We are going through a period in our country right now that is extremely painful, which is why we need the leadership. And so maybe if this had happened at some other point in time, there would have been he could have redeemed himself. But especially at this moment in our history with everything that is happening, the only thing for him to do is to gracefully, in a dignified manner, apologize and say i need to step down. Congresswoman karen bass, really great to have your voice on our show tonight on this matter. Thank you. Thank you very much. More on our breaking news. Top virginia lawmakers calling on the governor to resign after his bizarre explanation for a racist yearbook photo picture next to his name. Well be right back. Morning. Morning. What do we got . Keep an eye on that branch. Might get windy. Have a good shift. Fire pit. Last use 0600. Id stay close. Morning. Get ready to switch. Protected by flo. Should say, protected by alan and jamie. Right . Should it . When you bundle home and auto. Run, alan . You get more than just savings. You get roundtheclock protection. You get more than just savings. Does removing makeup your skin deserves better. Garnier micellar cleansing water with micelles that work like a magnet. Its a pure way to remove stubborn makeup without harsh rubbing. Cleansing, reinvented. Micellar water. By garnier, naturally not long ago, ronda started here. And then, more jobs began to appear. These techs in a lab. This builder in a hardhat. The welders and electricians who do all of that. The diner staffed up cause they all needed lunch. Teachers. Doctors. Jobs grew a bunch. What started with one job spread all around. Because each job in energy creates many more in this town. Energy lives here. Before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, marie could only imagine enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice. Now no fruit is forbidden. Nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for allday, allnight protection. Can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn . Did you know, the exact same hotel room can have many different prices . It all depends on where you look. Wait, you paid how much . Oh, dear well, this is awkward. Thats why tripadvisor checks over 200 booking sites Cash Register ringing to find you a great price, and the hotel you want, so you dont end up overpaying for your room. No offense. Find the right hotel room for the right price. Hoo read reviews, check hotel prices, book things to do. Tripadvisor. I cannot in good conscience choose the path that would be easier for me in an effort to duck my responsibility to reconcile. That was Virginia GovernorRalph Northam explaining why he will not resign over a racist photo that appears on his personal page in his 1984 Medical College yearbook. Yesterday he apologized for being in the picture. But just a few hours ago, northam said hes not in the picture, and hes not sure how that picture made its way into the yearbook. But he does admit to darkening his face with shoe polish around the same time period when he dressed up like Michael Jackson. With me now, april ryan, White House Correspondent for american urban radio networks, and michael shear, White House Correspondent for the new york times. He also spent 15 years covering virginia politics, including the governors office. April, this idea that northam says he shouldnt resign because hes not actually the person in the photo, but, oh, by the way, he did put shoe polish on his face one to dress up as Michael Jackson, is he literally the only person who refuses to believe its over . Wait a minute. You forgot one thing. The coonman in the other yearbook. Hes delusional right now. You have the first black governor who was reserving judgment until he heard the press conference. You have his friend, bobby scott, congressman bobby scott, who said, you know, its hard for a friend to denounce this, but he is. You know, there are many those two along with others are feeling that as he, you know, wanted to portray Michael Jackson, he should just moonwalk out of there. He is insulting the intelligence of the American Population to say, ana i mean, i watched this, and i was in disbelief. To say, it wasnt me. You know, going back to an old shaggy song. It wasnt me. To say one of those two pictures wasnt him, but i did put shoe polish on my face and did the moonwalk, you know, in a contest for my Michael Jackson, impersonating Michael Jackson, and then when asked about, you know, the other yearbook with his nickname being coonman, other people did it, its thin. It is so thin. And you have a state thats still trying to deal with the effects after verb of charlottesville. Charlottesville is now a verb because of racism. You cannot say that its over and youre going to govern well. This is more than an albatross around his neck. Its an albatross around the states neck. He might be a recovering racist or what have you, but it doesnt look good, and he needs to step down. Michael, there was this other moment during the presser that struck me where it seemed like northam actually considered moonwalking like Michael Jackson. Watch this. Are you still able to moonwalk . Uh inappropriate circumstance. My wife says inappropriate circumstances. Do you think northam understands the gravity of the situation . Honestly, ana, i dont know. I mean, look, as you said, i covered virginia politics for a long time. Ive been in that Governors Mansion many times. I was in richmond for almost seven years covering two governors. Ive never seen a press conference like that, as bizarre as that was. Everything april said is right. He clearly thought that by coming out today, somehow he was going to put the questions to rest and that somehow he would stanch the bleeding and that the torrent of people coming out and asking him to resign would somehow stop. In fact it did the exact opposite. It raised new questions, that bizarre moment you just played, but the whole thing was bizarre. The whole idea that he would come out and admit to this one thing but reverse himself on whether he was in the picture. Republicans, democrats, not one really thinks that he has any serious chance of surviving this. You know, i cant imagine that this lasts much longer. April, just putting aside whether this was the governor or not, the fact that the yearbook would even publish this photo in 1984, we dont think of that year as ancient. I mean it wasnt that long ago. The