What in the world is happening in Virginia? Something in the Richmond water supply? A Russian plot against the state's top officials? Hysteria epidemic?

How could it be that the governor is found to have a medical school yearbook page with images of himself — or someone else — in blackface, and another photo of someone in Klan garb? How could it happen that the next guy in the line of succession, the lieutenant governor, is suddenly accused of a sexual assault that allegedly happened during the 2004 Democratic National Convention? And can you even begin to fathom how these revelations are followed in short order by the next guy on the succession list, the attorney general, volunteering that he appeared in blackface back in the early '80s too? (Are there any white men in Virginia who did not appear in blackface?)

All that in the space of a week, just as the state was beginning to enjoy a reputation as a well-run place, an enlightened  progressive place that had just lured the biggest economic development plum in the country, Amazon's new headquarters (half of it, anyway).

And just so the GOP doesn't get too preachy and arrogant about it all, that was followed on Thursday with word that the state's Republican Senate majority leader had been editor of the 1968 yearbook at Virginia Military Institute that was, according to the Virginian Pilot, filled with "a host of racist photos and slurs, including blackface.”

Oh Virginia, what's going on with you?

At some point, there has to be some turnover at the top, although right now nobody can figure out who's somehow eligible to take over all those posts. The state has a new, younger, more progressive electoral majority that's not at all amused by racism, or by allegations of sexual assault either. The governor's attempt to hide out until it all blows over isn't likely to succeed.

Gov. Ralph Northam has made things so much worse for himself by his inconsistent and incompetent response to it all. He apologized, then appeared to step away, then said he didn't think that was him in the photos (come on, governor, that was your own page in the yearbook, not some other hapless med student's). That muddle came a week after he made similarly rambling and confused statements about a piece of legislation that would have permitted abortion in Virginia right up to the moment of birth, a measure rightly judged infanticide by most reasonable people.

The governor's capacity and stature to lead has been hopelessly compromised and no rehab in the world is going to fix it.

And his lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, is finished too. No way the guy can survive the retelling of a 15-year-old story about a kiss that turned into way more than the female half of the couple really wanted. It's an old he-said, she-said story and there's no way to know whose version is accurate. But this is the #MeToo era and that's going to make a difference — one that will play our in electability, among other things.

Ralph Northam seems like a nice guy and so do the rest of the players in this Virginia drama. But this story is revealing, among other things, the racist underpinnings of a big and powerful piece of Virginia's political culture. Remember, we're talking about political leaders acknowledging they went to parties or performed in blackface in the 1980s, not the 1950s. By 1980, we were decades into the post-segregation era — at least some of us thought we were. But what happened in Virginia this month is a reminder that we've only covered our racism with a thin and fragile veneer. Scratch the surface, and there it is.

That's disappointing and worrisome, but I'm taking the optimistic high road anyway. Because what happened in Virginia is sparking a new conversation about race across the country. People are really talking about this. Remember, Megyn Kelly lost her plum NBC job last year in part because she announced on the air that she didn't see anything wrong with people dressing in blackface for Halloween. That sure didn't help her ratings, or the network's. But a major institution decided it wouldn't have that kind of conversation and it kicked her out.

If he doesn't find the exit door for himself, the voters will kick Ralph Northam out too.

But meanwhile, let's keep talking about it, because it's important. It's one more signal that for all our progress, we've still got a society in which too many people with my skin color believe they're superior to people with darker skin, and they still are willing make fun of other races. We are still a racist society. And we won't fix it until we confront it, talk about it, listen to the people who are still getting hurt, and then begin to act as if we are the people our Founders wanted us to be, a people who believe we're all created equal.


Tim White is the Observer’s editorial page editor. Follow him on Twitter @WhatTimSaid. He can be reached at 910-486-3504 or twhite@fayobserver.com. You can discuss this column online by going to fayobserver.com/opinion and clicking on today’s column.