Virginia’s attorney general made his first public appearance Sunday night since admitting to wearing blackface in college in 1980.
Attorney General Mark Herring was a guest at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Leesburg for an interfaith event addressing race relations and racial injustices.
“I am so very sorry that something I did a long time ago when I was 19 has added to and contributed to pain and to the disappointment,” he said.
He said he'd grown from his mistake decades ago.
“I know it was wrong and I know why it was wrong,” he said. “Was a dehumanization people of color and minimization of oppressive history.”
Herring had been among the elected leaders who called for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to resign after a photo surfaced from Northam's medical school yearbook showing someone in blackface and someone in a KKK robe.
Both men have resisted calls to resign.
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“I’m still listening to Virginians about how they’ve been impacted by this and listening to them to see if they would like me to continue, if I still have their trust,” Herring said.
Herring was praised for appearing at the event.
“It takes a great deal of courage not only to face mistakes but to face the people, and that is a testament to your character, sir, and I knew you would do it,” said Pastor Michelle Thomas, president of NAACP Loudoun County.
Herring said he hopes positive change will happen as a result of the controversy.
“Virginians want to take this moment, this focus on race in Virginia right now and try to make some good come of it,” he said.
