Delegate Don Scott: His First State House Speaker and his Contribution to the Civil Rights of the Poor, the Uninformed and the Forgotten
“I pray that it is a proud moment for all of us, as we nominate Delegate Don Scott as our next speaker of the house,” said Del. Luke E. Torian in his nomination speech.
KHALIL: As Scott took to the podium, he took a moment to appreciate his rise from the child of a poor single mother to leader of America’s first statehouse. He was grateful to the Black legislators who had served before him.
SWENSON: That is what I love about him, not about him. He makes sure that people at the bottom and the forgotten get what they need too, that’s what he kind of does.
A Man Who Wants to Divide the Commonwealth, and That’s How Khalid Voted for Virginia House Minority Leader (R-Virginia) Scott
It’s Khalid. Democrats did take back the whole Statehouse last fall and chose Scott as their nominee for speaker. Before he headed to Richmond, Scott gathered supporters in his district for a sendoff.
Scott is the person. And I tell people, like, I feel like this is a continuation of standing watch. You know, we stand and watch over our democracy. It doesn’t end in the Statehouse.
There is a man named Khalid. Moments like these raise Scott’s profile within the Democratic caucus. Less than six months later, he was chosen as House Minority leader and is now responsible for taking back the chamber from Republicans. On the campaign trail, every stump speech mentioned abortion access and threats to democracy. He reminds himself of this when he sees the ships sitting outside his office window, and he remembers his time in the Navy.
SCOTT: (Laughter) I just laughed. I said, he ain’t the principal and I ain’t a student. He can come over here if he wants to see me. He showed up to see me.
Scott was booed and jeered when he spoke to the Virginia House of Delegates, and said he had seen a person who wanted to divide the Commonwealth.
It’s Khalid. He won his first race for the Virginia House in 2019. His time in the legal system and his time in criminal justice reform are what led to his candidacy. He advocated for the automatic restoration of voting rights for former felons. His own rights were restored in 2013 by petitioning the governor. Scott uses a very aggressive style on the floor of the Statehouse.
Jahd Khalil: Bringing a Black Speaker into the Virginia Statehouse after a Drug-Penal Action on Don Scott
Scott: I remember receiving a text message from a good friend of mine. He texted me and said, you free now. Whatever you want to do, you can do it. It kind of made me feel relieved that people have learned about it. Either they’re going to be with me or not.
There is a person named Khalid. Scott told the reporter he was convicted on a drug charge while at law school and was imprisoned for nearly eight years. The front page of the Sunday paper had a story on it.
DON SCOTT: A reporter wanted to do a story, said, hey, you’ve gone to jail before. Is that true? I told him that. If you want to see the whole story, come see me.
JAHD KHALIL, BYLINE: Don Scott was successful as a trial lawyer. He was representing a city councilman charged with forgery. That put him in the public eye.
Soon after Virginia’s General Assembly gavels into session tomorrow, it will have a new House speaker – Democrat Don Scott. He’ll be the first black speaker in the whole of Virginia’s Legislature. VPM’s Jahd Khalil recently spent time with Scott in his home district and brings us this profile on the politician’s atypical journey to the highest seat in the Virginia Statehouse.
SCOTT: Every time I walk into that Capitol, y’all – and this is true, I promise you – I see ghosts. I see our ancestors who were in there, who were emptying people’s urine and emptying the spittoons, building the buildings, breaking their back while people made decisions about whether they were human or not.
SCOTT: I need y’all to pray for me ’cause there’s a lot out there coming my way. I think that I’m ready for it. But I’m going to stay prayed up, and I hope that y’all will too. Hope you have a great night. Thank you, Portsmouth, Va.
NPR: Don Scott Became First Black Speaker in Virginia Legislature’s 400-Year-Historic Collider-Electoral-Progress Session
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The audio record of NPR’s programming is authoritative.
Scott was raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet. Scott remembers meals of mayonnaise sandwiches and long hours at the local library, which his mother leaned on for free childcare. The young Scott turned into a voracious reader, which he says contributed to him going to college.
In Scott’s first term, protests erupted in state capitals after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Suddenly, the issues Scott had tried to tackle were top of mind in Richmond.
Scott was able to rise within the Democratic caucus due to his combative style on the floor in legislative sessions.
Early in 2022, Scott took on Gov. Glenn Youngkin after the Republican set up a “tipline” for Virginians to anonymously report educators for teaching so-called “divisive concepts” like Critical Race Theory.
Source: Don Scott becomes first Black speaker in Virginia Legislature’s 400-year history
A tribute to Delegate Scott during his term as the statehouse speaker of the Portsmouth House of Delegates, which lasted 400 years ago
Scott took it in stride. The truth hurts, I know it. I don’t want to make you cry, like saying ‘critical race theory,’ because I know it hurts your feelings.”
“We didn’t even see ourselves ever even raising our hand to run for speaker of the house, let alone achieve it,” he recounted them telling him after his nomination.
“I can see our ancestors who were in there, who were emptying the people’s urine, emptying the spittoons, building the buildings, breaking their backs, while the people made decisions about whether they were human or not.”
Scott told NPR, from his office in Portsmouth, that he was never really comfortable with his felony conviction which is now 30 years old. “You put limits on yourself because you feel like you have to be careful with how far you can go.”
Scott, a 58 year-old Navy veteran and lawyer representing the Southeastern Virginia city of Portsmouth, quickly distinguished himself in the Democratic Caucus in part thanks to his unconventional path to the statehouse.
“Over 400 years ago, people who looked like Delegate Scott gave their sweat blood and tears to build this Capitol,” Del. Torian elaborated. “And I would say that is probably only right and fitting and appropriate that 400 years later, a person of color, an African American, whose ancestors helped to build this capital now stands to help lead this House of Delegates.”
“My first immediate emotion is just gratitude. Scott cried tears of joy as he thanked his mother and wife from the gallery.