RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Don Scott is the 58th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, but he is nothing like his predecessors.
In honor of Black History Month, 8News spoke to Don Scott, the 58th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, who is breaking barriers at the State Capitol.
“Every day I walk in this room literally, I am in awe,” Scott told 8News during an interview earlier this week in the House Chamber.
Scott is currently serving as the first Black Speaker in Virginia’s history.
“I see the ghosts in this room for the people who came in this room before me, who did not get the opportunity to sit in these seats,” Scott said. “They were the servants. They were the folks who used their hands to build this place.”
Scott grew up in Houston and was raised by a single mother. Shortly after he graduated college, he joined the Navy.
“I look at this as a continuation of that service to make sure that we protect this democracy,” Scott said about serving as Speaker. “To make sure that we give those folks who are making those sacrifices, sometimes with their very lives, give them something to come home to and something to be proud of.”
After returning from military service, Scott’s journey hit a speed bump. Scott was arrested in 1994 as part of a drug conspiracy case. He served more than seven years in federal prison.
“So, at the end of the day, I think what it taught me was stick to your plan, you are going to face obstacles, you are going to face adversity,” Scott said when asked about his arrest. “How you deal with that adversity is what matters most.”
Scott, who is now a month into his new job as Speaker, said he’s hoping his rise to the top of Virginia politics will serve as a lesson to young black kids across the commonwealth.
“I’m holding a spot for you,” Scott said. “I’m warming it up for you. Feel free to come and take my spot, in several years. They can be the Speaker. They can be the President, they can be whatever they want to be.”
