RICHMOND, Va. — WUSA9 is celebrating Black History Month and recognizing history that was just made in January. Virginia Delegate Don Scott was sworn in as the 58th Speaker of the House. Scott is the commonwealth’s first Black Speaker. He takes office at a pivotal moment for Virginia, with several hot button issues in focus this legislative session.
As WUSA9 sat down to interview Virginia’s Speaker of the House, it was evident that Portsmouth Democrat Don Scott is a bit unconventional.
“I’ve been forged, I’m faithful, but I cuss a little bit to get my point across,” said Scott, smiling.
In early 2024, Scott made history. He was unanimously elected by his party as the first Black Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, shattering barriers 400 years in the making.
“It’s amazing; I’m grateful,” said Scott. “I realize that if I look across the river here, a few miles away from where we sit, probably less than a mile there’s a place called Lumpkins Jail. It’s the place where slaves were taken to before they were literally sold down the river here in Richmond.”
Richmond, once serving as the Capitol of the Confederacy, is a place with deep ties to slavery.
“I see the ghosts in the building when I go to that Capitol,” said Scott.
Scott says the significance of his appointment isn’t lost on him. When he thinks of the people that came before him, and the slaves who helped build the very Capitol he now works in, he reflected, sharing what he would say with those people today.
"Thank you. Thank you for being able to endure. Thank you for being able to deal with the indignities; thank you for being in a room where people literally pretended that you were not a human.”
Scott’s journey to the height of state politics is storied, unpredictable, and you guessed it: unconventional.
Scott served as an officer in the Navy, went to law school, and spent time in federal prison for a drug conspiracy case.
“I was in my third year of law school, and I went to go pick up some money, drug money. I had never been in trouble in my life. I ended up getting a 10-year sentence,” said Scott.
"Do you think the punishment fit the crime?” asked WUSA9’s Simone De Alba?
“I believe in accountability. I believe there should have been a punishment, but I believe it was excessive. I’d never been in trouble before – I had served my country,” he said.
Despite serving nearly eight years in federal prison, Scott was able to turn his life around. He finished his law degree and started his own practice, before getting into politics.
“You have to out work everybody because I constantly know that I have to prove myself,” said Scott. “I have to be three times as good.”
With the legislative session halfway through, abortion, taxes, minimum wage, and gun control remain some of the top priorities for lawmakers.
“Virginia is the last southern state in the United States of America not to have prohibitive reproductive health care and abortion laws. This is the last safe place in the south,” said Scott.
And when it comes to the proposed Monumental Arena in Alexandria, Scott says there’s still a lot of negotiating on the table.
“We are in the weeds and we’re taking a look at it. I’m a trial lawyer, I love to negotiate, that’s what we’re doing, keeping the conversation open for further negotiations.”
With the legislative session ending on March 9, Scott says there’s plenty of work to be done still.
As he reflects on his appointment to the speakership, he says the job was earned.
“People will say to me, ‘Oh my god, you’re doing such a good job,” said Scott.
“I was like, what the hell were you expecting? I was prepared for this; this is not an accident – I prepared for this.”