Don Scott becomes Virginia’s first Black speaker of the House

As the Virginia General Assembly kicked off its 60-day session Wednesday, lawmakers briefly put their bipartisan differences aside to embrace and revel in a historic moment: the swearing in of Del. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, as the first Black speaker of the House of Delegates in the body’s 405-year history. 

After taking his oath of office in the packed House chamber at 12:22 p.m., a visibly emotional Scott stood behind the speaker’s lectern, struggling to hold back tears. “My first immediate emotion is just gratitude,” he said quietly. “I’m very grateful, I know this is God’s favor, I know this is God’s grace, which is an undeserved favor, and I’m grateful.”

Scott vowed to work with both Republicans and Democrats for the good of Virginia, despite their partisan differences. 

“This is what I promise as speaker — I will allow debate. I will try to promote civility, no matter how invested we all are in an outcome, no matter how vociferous it may become, and sometimes we all get emotionally attached to some stuff. And that’s good,” he said. “That’s why we were elected, because we care. So I would just not be the speaker of the Democrats, and I will not just be the opponent of the Republicans, but I will be the speaker of the House of the Commonwealth of Virginia.” 

Scott reminded his colleagues that more than 80% of legislation that passes the House does so on a bipartisan basis. 

“News flash — every great idea is not on the Democratic side, and every great idea is not on the Republican side. Great ideas come together,” he said. “Sometimes they start out as a bad idea and they become a great idea. And we fix them, and we do it together. So I’m looking forward to working with everybody to continue that journey.”

Moments before Scott took his oath of office, the motion to nominate the lawmaker as the new speaker by Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince Williams, was seconded by a Republican, following a bipartisan House tradition. 

Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County, called Scott’s election as the first Black speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates “a historic moment in our 405-year history, and it is only fitting that this moment has come as our nation embarks upon its 250th anniversary.”

Austin said he was honored to second Scott’s nomination. “My friendship with Don has grown, I’ve come to know him as a professional, who approaches his issues with persuasion, calm, an honorable and persistent man, and always with a smile,” he said. “Even when we don’t see eye to eye on the policies, I firmly believe that through your leadership we will work together in the best interest of all Virginians.”

Scott during his speech reminisced about running into Austin at the airport in Houston several years ago — a moment that sparked their friendship. 

“I’m going through the airport lobby, and I see Delegate Austin, and I yell out, ‘Delegate Austin, Terry.’ And like he always does, he ignored me. But thank God, his wife was with him. And like most of our wives that protect us from ourselves, she said, ‘Terry,’ and she looked back and pointed at me. And so he came over and we spoke and we hugged and we talked. And from that point on, we’ve had, you know, a great friendship and relationship.”

For Scott, 58, his ascent to becoming the 58th House speaker is a remarkable milestone on a long journey that began in Jasper, a town of 7,000 in Deep East Texas about 40 miles west of the Louisiana state line, where he spent much of his childhood. 

After graduating from Texas A&M University with a major in agriculture, Scott served as a Naval officer until 1991, and went on to obtain a law degree from Louisiana State University Law School. But shortly after his graduation in 1994, he spent seven and a half years in a federal prison following a conviction for a single charge of conspiracy to possess, related to a crack cocaine distribution ring.

Following his release, Scott moved to Portsmouth to practice law. In an interview with Cardinal News after the November election, the speaker-designee said that he was among thousands of nonviolent felons who had their civil rights restored under former Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, which eventually allowed him to run for public office.

On Wednesday, McDonnell witnessed Scott’s swearing in, watching from the back row on the House floor, nodding silently in approval when the new speaker thanked God for “the honor and privilege to be elected by my peers as the first Black speaker of the House of Delegates, four hundred and five years after the founding of the longest, continuous democratic elected body in the western hemisphere was founded.”

Scott was first elected in 2019 to represent what then was the 80th House of Delegates District, which includes Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk, and he became the Democratic minority leader in 2022, just a few months into his second term.

And at his swearing in, Scott said that he was aware of the historical significance of his election as the speaker “400 years after the first enslaved people arrived — not far from here down in Hampton Roads, Virginia. I know I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me. I stand on the shoulders of giants.”

Every time he looks around the historic House chamber, he sees “the ghosts of those people who worked here, who may have been enslaved here, whose dignity and humanity was discounted right here in this room,” Scott said. 

“I see those people. And I carry their hopes and dreams, and their posterity in my heart.”