State Supreme Court Justice Craig Doran resigned Friday as administrative judge for the Rochester region over a Halloween costume he wore 33 years ago of “a well-known public figure of color.”
A photo from the 1988 Halloween party reportedly recently resurfaced online, sparking the decision from Judge Doran.
“I did not comprehend at the time the hurtful nature of my actions,” Doran said in a statement Friday. “I know now that an act of this nature is considered to be racist. I can assure you that this event in 1988 in no way reflects my beliefs and principles.”
“I ask for forgiveness from those who have been hurt by this, those I may have embarrassed, and from the people who have taken time in their lives to educate me about the hurt my actions caused,” the statement continued.
DORAN: Blackface at 1988 costume party leads to resignation as administrative judge for the Seventh Judicial District. pic.twitter.com/V7KIw3prlI
— Bob Lonsberry (@BobLonsberry) July 2, 2021
The Monroe County Bar Association weighed in on the matter via a statement, underscoring that “actions of individuals” can be condemned “without condemning the individuals themselves.”
“Judge Doran has been a champion of diversity within the bench and bar and has worked with the MCBA in its attempts to bring about real and substantive change,” the statement said. “We can all condemn the actions of individuals without condemning the individuals themselves.”
As highlighted by WXXI News, the Seventh Judicial District covers eight counties in upstate, NY: Monroe, Cayuga, Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Yates.
“The state’s chief administrative judge, Lawrence Marks, released a statement saying that the process for choosing Doran’s successor would begin soon and that state Supreme Court Justice William Taylor will serve as acting administrative judge in the interim,” the report noted.
It remains unclear which celebrity Judge Doran dressed up as at the party.
Back in 2019, a resurfaced yearbook reportedly showed Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) in either blackface or wearing a KKK robe.
“Northam initially apologized for the photos but a day later claimed he was not in them and didn’t know how they made it onto his page, which he was responsible for,” The Daily Wire reported. “But as Northam was insisting he wasn’t in the widely circulated blackface photo, he admitted to wearing blackface on another occasion.”
“Yesterday I took responsibility for content that appeared on my page in the Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook that was clearly racist and offensive. I am not and will not excuse the content of the photo,” Northam said back in February 2019. “It was offensive, racist, and despicable. When my staff showed me the photo in question yesterday, I was seeing it for the first time.”
“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 the same period of my life,” the Democrat added. “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.”
Northam resisted calls for resignation and still serves as Virginia’s governor.
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Source: Dailywire
