Virginia’s House Speaker Don Scott Honors Black History Month with Inspiring Address
Tidewater Community College’s Student Life Committee closed Black History Month 2025 on Wednesday afternoon, February 26 at the Portsmouth Campus Student Center. The Virginia Speaker of the House, Don Scott, served as the keynote speaker to discuss workforce development and shared his story of his rise to earning a spot in the Virginia House of Delegates. TCC students, faculty, staff, and the public were invited to attend the keynote speaker presentation, “African Americans and Labor: Resilience, Innovation, and Empowerment” which included a networking lunch.
TCC’s Associate Vice President for Professional Development Solutions with Workforce Solutions, Kodi Fleming, was onstage with Speaker Scott to discuss workforce development and the industry within our area. Speaker Scott said he is pushing for paid internships and workforce employees’ access to quality training. He praised TCC for providing resources and opportunities for people to earn a certification and go into the workforce with skills that can help them succeed in multiple fields.
In Scott’s keynote speech, he shared about his upbringing with his single mother and siblings in Houston, Texas. Scott attended Texas A&M University and graduated with a degree in agriculture. After earning his undergraduate degree, he served as a naval officer on the destroyer USS John Hancock. In 1994, he earned a law degree from Louisiana State University, hoping to continue into the legal world.
Around that time, Scott said he had many struggles and challenges which led him to serving time in prison. Throughout that time, he reconnected with his faith and felt guided in a better direction.
Scott said he cherishes the workforce development programs. His first job after prison was welding. In 2002, Scott joined the KRA Corporation, a workforce development company, working in case management followed by a promotion a year later to project manager. In 2005, Scott moved from Philadelphia, where he and his wife originally resided, to the Hampton Roads area. At that point, he was running the project and serving as the senior vice president at the firm.
In that decade, Scott addressed this part of his life as the period of “resilience” as he worked his way through a difficult time of his life, regaining his strength and identity as a person.
Scott spoke on how he reached a point where he wanted to be able to use his law degree and skills to contribute to making change in society. In 2014, he passed the Virginia bar exam and was licensed as an attorney in 2015. He opened his own firm where he took on criminal defense, family law, and civil cases. In 2022, Scott partnered with Breit Biniazan Trial Lawyers.
Scott said that “it’s easy to have a pity party” but people can “redefine” themselves like he did. He called this “innovation” because he was able to make a new name and story for himself.
Eventually, Scott stepped into politics. He ran in 2019 for the House of Delegates to represent the city of Portsmouth. He served as the minority leader from 2022 to 2024. In 2023, Scott was nominated unanimously by his caucus and became the first black Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates in history.
“Politics don’t matter, humanity is what matters,” Scott said.
In his time in politics, he has advocated for many important causes including criminal justice reform, economic development, affordable healthcare, and public education.
Scott spoke on “empowerment” as the last message to the TCC community. He encouraged people to speak up and not to be afraid to be their authentic self.
“People need to use their voice to speak up. Representation matters,” Scott said.