Youngkin's Proposed Revisions on Race; Speaker Scott Demoted on Gala Program; JD Spain's Winning Numbers; Gala Photos
➡️ 4 days until Network NOVA Women’s Summit on June 28
➡️ Conventions: Rs: starts in 21 days on July 15, Ds: starts in 56 days on Aug. 19
➡️ 39 days until the Virginia Black Business Expo on Aug. 2
➡️ 70 days until the Bobby Scott Labor Day Cookout on Sept. 2
➡️ 134 days until Election Day Nov. 5
Education: FOIA’d Documents Reveal Youngkin Administration Obsession on Race
AGAIN: YOUNGKIN’S FOCUS ON RACE. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Administration proposed a slew of changes to an elective course on African American History in an attempt to comply with Youngkin’s first executive order as Governor, which was focused on race.
A document obtained after a freedom of information act request by the watchdog group American Oversight provides another example of the Youngkin Administration’s focus on race. Talking repeatedly about the stopping “CRT” was a core strategy for Youngkin in 2021 as he ran for Governor.
The Aug. 2023 document was a response to Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order 1, which focused on “ending the use of inherently divisive concepts, including critical race theory, and restoring excellence in K-12 public education in the Commonwealth.”
Gov. Youngkin signed the executive order on his first day in office on Jan. 15, 2022. Youngkin, who had never held elected office prior to being elected the 74th Governor of Virginia in 2021, defeated former Governor Terry McAuliffe in part because of his repeated southern strategy adjacent pledge to eliminate what Youngkin referred to on the campaign trail as “divisive concepts” from classroom instruction. Candidate Youngkin claimed that “critical race theory” was a persistent problem in Virginia classrooms — even though “critical race theory” isn’t taught in Virginia’s K-12 schools.
The proposed changes as see in the document FOIA’d by American Oversight offer an eye-opening look int what many Republican Governors in several states are focused on regarding the teaching on the impact of racism in American history.
RELATED: Youngkin Administration Reviews Race, DEI Syllabi for VCU, George Mason Courses
On March 28, news arrived that the Youngkin Administration was requesting and reviewing and revising educational content on race on the collegiate level and requesting to review courses related to race offered at Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University.
A download of the FOIA’d document can be downloaded below:
The national Republican Party has been taking action to ban books dealing with issues of racism in America, declaring equity programs unfair, mounting legal campaigns against equity and inclusion as spearheaded by Edward Blum, and creating a safe space for racists and race-baiting within the GOP as constantly practiced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Charlie Kirk, Vivek Ramaswamy.
RELATED: On Capitol Hill, Republicans Use Bigoted Attacks Against Political Foes (NYT, Feb. 13, 2024)
With that as a backdrop, Republicans have also sought to change course curriculums in public schools and colleges and have declared that narratives that detail racism in American history are “divisive.”
In January 2022, Youngkin’s Administrator established a tip line inviting parents to report when their children were taught allegedly “divisive” subjects in school. Racism and issues of inequality were the defined targets of so-called “divisive” subject matter that the tip line was attempting to induce reporting on. The Youngkin Administration then blocked FOIA requests related to what was sent to the tip line until finally being forced to disclose the tip line content after legal action by several news organizations and American Oversight.
“The governor’s office promoted the tip line’s email address as a vehicle to enforce Youngkin’s first executive order… to ‘end the use of inherently divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory’ in K-12 schools. The executive order does not define critical race theory, or CRT, which is an academic framework not formally taught in any K-12 school curricula,” wrote American Insight in Sept. 2023.
The term “critical race theory” has often been used as a buzzword to brand any acknowledgment of racial inequality in American history as problematic. Youngkin’s mention of CRT at his campaign rallies would often received the loudest applause from the audience.
Speaker Scott Demoted on Gala Program, Virginia Party Chair Apologizes
Virginia’s historic House Speaker Don Scott was mistakenly listed on the Democratic Party of Virginia’s annual Blue Commonwealth Gala program as “Majority Leader.” The annual gala took place on June 22 in Richmond. Don Scott’s actual title is “Speaker.”
As Speaker of the Virginia House, Don Scott is the highest ranking Democrat on the state level in Virginia. Democrats lost the Virginia House, the Governor’s mansion, the Lt. Governor’s office and the Attorney General’s Office to Republicans in 2021, the year Gov. Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe. Democrats did maintain control of the Virginia Senate. Two years later in 2023, Speaker Scott played a vital role in fundraising, messaging and candidate recruitment and Democrats successfully flipped the Virginia House in 2023.
“He had a hell of a lot to do with securing the majority in the House of Delegates but he’s my, and our, historic Speaker of the House so I hope Don — next year we will have a little better proofreading,” offered Virginia Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Swecker on the gala program error before delivering wider remarks on the current political state of play in Virginia and nationwide at the June 22 gala.
On January 10, 2024, Speaker Scott became the first African American to be sworn in as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates in the Commonwealth’s over 405 year history. Scott’s election to Speaker offered a staggering historical arch a southern state that has been the home of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Hampton in 1619, the Nat Turner rebellion in Southhampton ending in the arbitrary mass murder of over 150 enslaved Black people, lynching, massive resistance and all the other features of Jim Crow in the American South.
On April 27, 2022, Virginia House Democrats voted to remove Eileen Filler-Corn from the role of Minority Leader. On July 1, 2022, Virginia House Democrats chose Don Scott as their Minority Leader. As Minority Leader, Scott worked closely with Del. Dan Helmer to win the majority in the House in 2023. House Democrats then voted for Don Scott to be their next Speaker. What followed in his first session as Speaker this year was one of the most efficiently run Virginia House sessions in recent memory with few late nights and quick bill and focused bill passage that would force a Republican Governor in a divided government to be on record on many contentious issues.
“I know there was a little snafu in the program. But let me say it like Jay-Z said it: Allow me to re-introduce myself,” Speaker Scott began, referring to the demotion in title in the gala program at the start of his Saturday night remarks. The audience responded with applause and laughter. Speaker Scott was one of eight speakers featured during the June 22 evening gala at the Science Museum of Virginia.
Though there was consistent noise in a back of the room standing $250 ticketed section at the back of the event, the room did become more quiet during the address of keynote speaker U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
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BIDEN’S ISRAEL-GAZA POLICY PROTESTED DURING VA DEM CONVENTION
Though the first Democratic state party convention in eight years was well organized and well attended with over 1,000 Democrats from across Virginia in a large room on the top floor of the Richmond Convention Center, the gathering included a protest on the Biden Administration’s Israel/Gaza policy. In May, over 125 students and activists were arrested at four of Virginia’s universities in protest of the Biden Administration's Israel/Gaza policy.
After a point of order at the convention related to what some Democrats alleged was a violation of the party’s resolutions committee process was made a protest was seen in the middle of the convention floor. The protesters were focused on a resolution in support of the Biden Administration’s policy on the Israel-Gaza War. That point of order was followed by an appeal which was denied by a voice vote.
“The rules were followed. Six were appointed by the central committee and four by the Chair and that is following the rules,” said Democratic Party Committee of Virginia Treasurer Abbi Easter from a microphone during the debate on the point of order.
Speaker Don Scott was presiding over the discussion as the ceremonial convention chair, a role Democratic House Speaker’s ceremonially enjoy. The group of 20 to 25 attendees approached the stage with a banner and chanted “free Palestine” after Speaker Scott’s final voice vote ruling. Security reversed the course of the activists and they were escorted out of the convention. Democrats returned to regular business soon thereafter with members of Congress and DNC candidates addressing the delegates and presenting their case.
The moment of protest was a reminder of how events in the Middle East might impact the November rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Trump — who Biden defeated by 8 million votes in 2020. Younger voters are particularly concerned over Biden’s policy in the Israel-Hamas war. The issues is also a particular concern for Biden’s re-election team in the swing state of Michigan which includes a substantial Arab-American population.
Seven Dem Blue Gala Photos
JD Spain Victory: Final Ranked Choice Voting Results for Competitive Arlington County Board Race
JD Spain enjoyed and endless number of elected officials supporting his campaign to be elected to the Arlington County Board. They included State Senators Barbara Favola, Aaron Rouse and Ghazala Hashmi.
Biden-Harris Announces $1.5 Million Partnership with Black-Owned Newspapers
Team Biden-Harris Announces $1.5 Million Partnership with Black-Owned Newspapers Across the Country
From NNPA: On June 22, Biden-Harris 2024 is announcing a $1.5 million partnership with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which houses some of the nation’s most prominent and historic Black-owned newspapers from across the country. This partnership is part of Team Biden-Harris’ historic investments in Black media – which are the earliest and largest investments for any reelection campaign in history.
The partnership comes in the form of a $1.5 million investment that will strengthen the efforts of NNPA members, many of whom are Black-owned small businesses, and help ensure Black America understands the stakes of this election.
The following is a statement from Biden-Harris Black Media Director Jasmine Harris:
“In August of last year, our campaign announced the earliest and largest investment into Black media for any reelection campaign in history. This partnership with the NNPA is a continuation of those efforts, and will strengthen our work in meeting Black voters where they are, to underscore the stakes of this election for Black America.”
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