WASHINGTON, D.C.—People For the American Way President Michael Keegan released the following statement in response to reports that Alabama Governor Kay Ivey performed in blackface in college; Ivey has subsequently refused to step down:

“We wholeheartedly support the call by Alabama’s NAACP, lawmakers and community leaders for Governor Kay Ivey to step down following revelations that she took part in a racist skit. Ivey’s apology notwithstanding, she clearly fails to grasp the seriousness of her offense and the deep pain it causes the Alabamians she was elected to serve. Sadly, this only confirms serious concerns about Ivey that arose when she made a campaign pledge last year to preserve the state’s Confederate monuments and derided concerns about the monuments as ‘politically correct nonsense.’ The people of Alabama deserve a leader who believes in the dignity and worth of all Alabamians, and Ivey’s actions prove she is not that leader. She must step aside.”