OK, please explain to me. I've seen myriad scandals involving politicians, people who are prominent in public life, particularly recently, I'm thinking. Where I live and where I grew up (N. CA, and S. CA respectively), I've never heard of anyone wearing black face. I've never lived in "the South." VA, I suppose, would be considered The South, maybe not the deep South, dunno.
What does it signify that this guy when going to med school was involved in some prankish behavior and he wore black face when partying and had a picture of this published in the year book? Strikes me that Kavanaugh raping that girl was many times worse. I don't get why this guy has to immediately resign. I'm not saying he shouldn't! I'm just saying I don't comprehend the outrage, the cultural context of this bruhaha. Does this guy having engaged in this behavior stamp him as racist? Is he necessarily biased with regard to black Americans by virtue of this? Is he denigrating blacks? Is he disparaging them? Is he "making fun of them?" Arguably he's imitating them. Maybe even saying he'd like to be black or at least enjoy being black temporarily. Is that disparagement?
There was a famous book written, "Black Like Me." It was written by IIRC a white reporter/journalist/writer who underwent treatments that made him appear to be African American. He then lived a kind of underground life, experienced life as an African American for quite a while and then wrote his book, explained the incites he had about what it meant to be black in America.
Is what the governor of VA did so much different? Yeah, it's different. But people used to do that a lot and get paid to do it in public in the minstrel shows.
Look... People cross dress. People get sex change operations. People want to inhabit other people's identities as a way of seeing beyond themselves. Why are people so offended by this instance of that kind of activity?