UPDATE 1-No evidence that 'blackface' photo an error, Virginia governor's alma mater says

An inquiry by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's former medical school found no evidence that a racist photograph on his 1984 yearbook page appeared there in error, but was unable to determine the identity of the people in the picture, according to findings released on Wednesday. The publication by a conservative website early this year of the photo showing one person in blackface makeup and another in the robes of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan sparked weeks of political chaos in the state, setting off scandals that embroiled Virginia's three top Democrats.

Northam in February initially admitted to having appeared in the photo and apologized. He later changed his story, saying he did not believe he was pictured but had performed in blackface to impersonate the singer Michael Jackson at about that time. That led his alma mater, the Eastern Virginia Medical School, to line up a team of lawyers to conduct a probe into how the photo appeared on Northam's yearbook page.

The report concluded that the yearbook's production was overseen by students with little faculty input. "We found no information that the Photograph was placed in error, though we acknowledge there is scant information on this subject thirty-five years after the fact," the report said.

Northam was interviewed as part of the inquiry and said he was "positive" he was not in the photograph and did not know who was. "Governor Northam noted that he was very slender in college and medical school and that the legs on that person are much thicker than his," the report said, referring to the person in the photograph wearing blackface.

The photograph showing people in blackface was not isolated to the one that appeared on Northam's page, the report said: there were at least ten such photographs in yearbooks spanning from 1976 to 2013. Northam, a white 59-year-old former U.S. Army doctor, resisted calls to step down from within his own party in Virginia - seen as a key swing state for the 2020 presidential election - as well as from at least five Democratic presidential candidates.

His decision to not resign was buoyed by polls in February showing support, especially from the state's black residents. In a Washington Post poll, 58 percent of black residents said Northam should remain in the office versus 37 percent who said he should leave. The scandal ensnared two other Virginia officials, with women accusing Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, and Attorney General Mark Herring said he wore blackface in college to depict a black rapper.

The origins of blackface date to 19th century "minstrel" shows in which white performers painted their faces black to caricature slaves. It is widely seen as racist today but remained a common theme in U.S. television and movies through the 1980s. Northam, who took office in 2018, has vowed to finish his four-year term.

Polling by Morning Consult showed Northam's approval rating plunged in February after the scandal broke but has since recovered, with more Virginians now approving of him than disapproving, based on interviews conducted from April 1-23 of 2,896 voters registered in Virginia. Northam's office declined to comment ahead of the release of the inquiry's findings.