Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is a lot of things Virginia's current governor is not: young, charismatic and part of a multicultural wave sweeping through
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is a lot of things Virginia’s current governor is not: young, charismatic and part of a multicultural wave sweeping through the commonwealth’s Democratic party.
He could soon be called upon to lead the state, should Gov. Ralph Northam, a fellow Democrat, reverse course and adhere to the avalanche of calls – from inside and outside of Virginia — for him to resign.
If that happens, Fairfax would only be the second African-American governor to serve in the history of Virginia, and one of just a few across the country since reconstruction.
Fairfax, who is 39, was seen as a rising star within the party long before the controversy surrounding Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook page, which includes a picture depicting one man in blackface and one dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member, erupted late last week.
Since assuming office a little more than a year ago, Fairfax has drawn praise for standing up against celebrations of Virginia’s racist past.
As lieutenant governor, one of Fairfax’s duties is to preside over the state senate. Last month, on Robert E. Lee’s birthday, while elected officials paid tribute to the Confederate general, Fairfax stepped off the dais and sat in quiet protest.
„I want to be clear that my children, my grandchildren will not see me on videotape presiding over a motion honoring people who fought for a set of laws and a society that would have enslaved members of their family,“ Fairfax said shortly after the protest to member station WVTF.
