Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has so far declined to step down from his post after a racist photo was discovered on his medical school yearbook page, showing one man in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan robes.

But the effects of that photograph are rippling beyond the governor as universities across the region are acknowledging that there is more than likely a trove of racist, offensive imagery in their own official yearbook archives from decades past. Some universities have already begun digging the images up.

A student at the University of Maryland discovered blackface images in the university’s yearbooks after searching for just five minutes, according to her Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/metapodsalad/status/1093524338316324867

University President Wallace Loh replied directly to the student’s tweet, writing: “The images of blackface found in past UMD yearbooks are profoundly hurtful and distressing. Traditions like this reflect a history of racial prejudice and do not convey what we seek to embody today.”

The Baltimore Sun further reviewed archives of Maryland yearbooks and found that photos of students in blackface can be found in yearbook editions throughout the 1960s and 1970s, as well as earlier than that. The Johns Hopkins University found a photo of a student in blackface in 1981 and a photo of people in robes and hoods in 1961, according to the Sun.

American University officials have also found several images “of concern,” according to provost Daniel Myers and vice president of campus life Fanta Aw (you can see these photos at The Eagle, AU’s student newspaper). In a letter to the university on Monday, Myers and Aw wrote that some of the photos, cartoons, and drawings “clearly reflect racism, bigotry, and ignorance toward African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Others will require more context to fully understand their meaning.” (Disclosure: American University owns the license to WAMU, DCist’s parent company.)

The email from AU also says that it will create “educational programming that will review the significance and history of these images.”

George Washington University’s student newspaper, the GW Hatchet, unearthed dozens of images of blackface and men in KKK hoods dating back to early twentieth century yearbooks. The photos variously depict two men in blackface performing in a talent show, and students wearing KKK hoods at parties. The most recent photo appeared in the 1977 edition of the yearbook, according to the Hatchet.

GW President Thomas LeBlanc addressed the photos at a Board of Trustees meeting last week: “It has come to our attention that the GW yearbook archives include racist images, some of which are now circulating online. It’s important for us to acknowledge our history, even when we don’t like what we see. Racism has no place at GW and we will work every single day to create a welcoming, inclusive community for all,” LeBlanc said.

Catholic University, Gallaudet University, Trinity Washington University, the University of the District of Columbia, and Georgetown University have not responded to requests for comment about what steps, if any, they are taking to review their yearbook archives.