Blackface Photo Brings Apology

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan apologized Monday for appearing in blackface at a minstrel show 39 years ago and lashed out at Republicans for unearthing a 1960 photo of the performance.

“I certainly regret my participation in this kind of theater, and I sincerely and readily apologize for my insensitivity of 39 years ago,” said Carnahan, a Democrat who is challenging Republican Sen. John Ashcroft for his Senate seat in 2000.

Carnahan, 65, said he should be judged on his record, including legislative sponsorship of a state civil rights law in 1965 and the appointment of the first black Missouri Supreme Court judge in 1995.

That judge, Ronnie White, was rejected for a federal judgeship on Oct. 5 after Ashcroft told the Senate that White was soft on the death penalty and “pro-criminal.”