Ariana Oliver- Behind The Legacy of America's Blackface

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47125474
This article was published by Barrett Holmes Pitner on February 5, 2019. 
An image was produced showing Virginia governor, Ralph Northam, featuring a white man in blackface and another in a KKK robe attire. Since the resurfacing of the image, Ralph has lost the support of his fellow senators and many of his followers who are now calling for his resignation. Ralph refused to resign his position and believes that he will remain in office. However, Ralph Northam isn't the only governor to be exposed in a blackface scandal. This article digs into the past of Blackface and its origins in the 1830s. Blackface was commonly used during this time and in performances to dehumanize African Americans. Sadly enough, Blackface has remained apart of the United States culture, and has yet to be addressed publicly. 
The fact that that blackface is still used today and is even being used by people in respected positions, such as Ralph Northam who is Virginia's governor, is unbelievable to me. Schools, companies, and institutions should immediately remove those who use blackface because if they don't, that's encouraging this kind of behavior to others and they'll think it's okay to dehumanize African Americans since they won't get punished for it. Ralph Northam should resign and apologize for his immature behavior. There should be zero tolerance for blackface because it reinforces the derogatory stereotypes. 
In America's earlier days, racism was heavily prominent. After the Civil War, African Americans were victims of Jim Crow Laws, which enforced racial segregation, and discrimination. During WW2 and the creation of the New Deal, we still reviewed a prevalent  and clear separation between races.