Coonman seems like a really gullible guy, his classmates probably convinced him to be coonman for their entertainment. And then later he was manipulated by Democrats to be their puppet front man because he sounded like a genteel southern gentleman.
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/here-are-a-few-times-ralph-northam-admitted-that-he-was-in-the-blackface-klan-photo/
The Virginia GOP has been comped for a long time, I gave up working for the party many years ago because I was just working to get Democrats elected as republicans