Photo of Governor in Blackface Circulated
Missouri Republicans, upset over charges of racism against Sen. John Ashcroft, are circulating a photograph taken 39 years ago of Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan in blackface makeup performing a minstrel show. Carnahan is challenging Ashcroft for his Senate seat in 2000. The issue of race arose after Ashcroft voted Oct. 5 to help defeat the nomination of Ronnie White, the first black Missouri Supreme Court judge, to the federal bench. Research by the Missouri Republican Party turned up the 1960 photograph of Carnahan in his hometown paper, party executive director John Hancock said in an interview.
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