The Black Voters of Virginia

When it became obvious that Governor Northam of Virginia had a racist past, I suggested to my friends in the bay area that we should now listen to the black voters of Virginia. 

It wasn't that I believed Northam's excuses--I think he's been lying and evasive.

I predicted that black voters, unlike black political leaders on television, would support Northam. This claim met without much agreement, but today the first poll came out. About 60 % of black voters in Virginia want Northam to remain in office and finish his term.

My reasoning went like this. (1) Northam had been elected by black voters, who preferred him to openly racist party of Trump. (2) Black voters understood all along that Northam was an elite white Virginian who likely had a racist past, so his blackface photo surprised almost no one.  (3) My sense (from afar and unreliable) of the black voters of Virginia was that they tend to be pragmatic in their view of politics.  It makes sense to be pragmatic in some situations.

It seems likely that Northam, more than some others, will now work for racial justice.