RICHMOND, Va. – During Gov. Ralph Northam’s news conference on Tuesday he was asked about a recent controversial tweet by Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.
Falwell’s tweet was in regard to his disagreement with the state’s mask mandate, saying he would only wear a mask if it had the controversial blackface photo in Northam’s medical school yearbook.
Just so folks outside Virginia unfamiliar with the pic on the mask understand: it is from the personal page of the medical school yearbook of @GovernorVA . Just a way to shine a spotlight on the fact that Democrats are and always have been the real racists in this country. https://t.co/9YKwTrgIDj
— Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) May 27, 2020
“I would just say that in response that my background in neurology and psychiatry is to deal and really help parents deal with their children’s behavior and child psychology 101, chapter one tells us, ‘do not water the weeds’ and I would consider the source,” said Northam on Tuesday.
Falwell’s tweet, which he has said he will not apologize for, has also launched other events.
- A Black Liberty University instructor resigned in response to the tweet
- A Lynchburg restaurant, Fifth and Federal, replied to the tweet, which became the rallying cry for a protest and later a riot in Lynchburg on Sunday night
- Black Liberty University alumni, about three dozen, sent a letter to Falwell, telling him, "There are many Christians of color who worship in our churches and communities; we will not recommend their attendance at L.U.”