Steven Hall
A former New York administrative judge resigned and apologized Friday over a Halloween costume he wore in 1988 of “a well-known public figure of color,” according to a press release.
Former administrative judge Craig Doran said he resigned as administrative judge for the Rochester region when a photo from a Halloween party reportedly was circulated. The statement didn’t say who Doran dressed up as.
“I did not comprehend at the time the hurtful nature of my actions,” Doran said in a statement. “I know now that an act of this nature is considered to be racist. I can assure you that this event in 1988 in no way reflects my beliefs and principles.”
“I ask for forgiveness from those who have been hurt by this, those I may have embarrassed, and from the people who have taken time in their lives to educate me about the hurt my actions caused,” he said.
Doran’s office declined a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Monroe County Bar Association released a statement Friday saying “actions of individuals” can be criticized “without condemning the individuals themselves.”
“Judge Doran has been a champion of diversity within the bench and bar and has worked with the MCBA in its attempts to bring about real and substantive change,” the statement said. “We believe that Judge Doran should not be judged as a whole by this past act.”
Halloween costumes have become controversial in recent years because several view some outfits as racist or offensive. Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam had a photo from his 1984 senior yearbook resurface that showed two people dressed in blackface and one in Ku Klux Klan (KKK) robes in February 2019.
At least 14 Idaho school employees were put on administrative leave after wearing costumes of former President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall and others that depicted Mexicans in November 2018, and a Missouri teacher was suspended indefinitely after a student wore a KKK costume for a class presentation in November 2018.
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