BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS

EP72 - Trump’s FBI Targets Sen. L Louise Lucas with Dr. Fergie Reid. The growing list of political adversaries of Donald Trump who have been the focus of investigation or indictment from Trump’s DoJ now includes one of the most powerful elected officials in Virginia.

On May 6, 2026, the business and office of Senator L. Louise Lucas, one of the most powerful women in Virginia, were raided by the FBI. The raid took place 15 days after Senator Lucas and Virginia House Speaker Don Scott scored a massive political victory over Republicans on April 21 by winning a refe...

EP71: Why was the Mayor of Martinsville Removed from Power? Richmond-based attorney Paul Goldman walks through the story of what happened to LC Jones, the Mayor of Martinsville, Virginia. A recall petition with no evidence attached to it led to a Black Mayor being removed from power.

Mayor Jones was removed from office in February for two months after “allegations” of wrongdoing. The problem: There was no evidence, criminal charges, indictment, testimony or formal investigation. It gets even better: A friend of the Mayor who later became a political rival joined with a petition drive featuring signatures from...

EP70: Interview with Delegate Stacey Carroll of Stafford. Stacey Carroll is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 64th District in Stafford County. A Democrat, she took office in January 2026 after defeating longtime Republican incumbent Paul Milde in a very closely watched race that signaled shifting political dynamics in Northern Virginia. Delegate Carroll is a member of the blue wave that entered the Virginia General Assembly in January 2026.

Del. Carroll is a certified public accountant and Army National Guard veteran, bringing nearly two decades of military service and experience auditing government systems to her...

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Donald Trump wrote in his latest insane communication on April 7, 2026

EP68: TARGETING GOV. SPANBERGER WHILE IGNORING THE ROLLING CRAZINESS OF DONALD TRUMP. On episode 69 of the Black Virginia News podcast, Dr. Fergie Reid, Jr. and Lauren Burke discuss the negative coverage of Gov. Abigail Spanberger. The attacks come mostly from the political right — and they come at a time when President Donald Trump is exhibiting unhinged behavior that has some in open conversation another 25th Amendment of the Constitution.

Only five months after Democr...

EP68 - Discussing flyer wars, Black politics in Virginia and redistricting with attorney Phillip Thompson of Loudoun. In late 2025, after President Donald Trump pushed Republicans in Texas to change their maps so he could rig the 2026 midterm elections, Democrats reacted and pushed back hard.

RELATED: Peter Thiel-backed group contributes $2.5 million to oppose Virginia redistricting (Democracy Docket, April 1, 2026)

In Virginia and California Democrats moved quickly to counter Trump’s moves. Trump pushed Republicans to conduct a rare redistricting round as Republicans slowly figured out how unpopular their politics are to voters. In Virginia, the maps to be...

EP67 - The Tsunami 64 Democrats: Virginia House Results with Fergie Reid, Jr. With a record-shattering 13-seat gain, Virginia Democrats have taken commanding control of the House of Delegates — setting the stage for a new political era. Virginia’s focused and hard driving Speaker, Don Scott, will lead a 64–36 majority as Governor-Elect Abigail Spanberger prepares to break a glass ceiling into history as Virginia’s first woman governor of Virginia. Together, they’ll chart the Commonwealth’s policy future when the new session begins in January 2026.

Fergie Reid Jr.—son of the first Black member of the Virginia House of Deleg...

EP66 - Virginia Elections 2025: Reactions to a Blue Tsunami. In this episode of the Black Virginia News podcast, Phil Thompson and Lauren Burke give their first impressions of election night in Virginia. Democrats completed a stunning victory and extended their majority in the Virginia House of Delegates under the leadership of Virginia House Speaker Don Scott and his campaign chair Delegate Dan Helmer.

The 2025 vote was a massive repudiation of the policies of President Donald Trump and could be seen in the results around the country. The moment sets up for a collision for the GOP heading...

EP65 - Virginia’s Attorney General Race: Black Voters, Media, and Jay Jones. In this episode of the Black Virginia News podcast, Penny Blue and Lauren Burke have a candid conversation about the 2025 race for Attorney General in Virginia. They will touch on topics of race, media and political strategy.

With less than two weeks left to Election Day, Virginia Democrats had to contend with a October surprise on October 3 that may put the chances of a Democratic sweep in question.

Thank you for listening and thanks to all of our subscribers. RATE THIS PODCAST ON...

EP64 - An Analysis of Virginia House Races with Fergie Reid, Jr. The 2025 race for control of the Virginia House of Delegates will serve as a barometer on the mood of the country and the policies of Donald Trump. Fergie Reid, Jr., the son William Ferguson Reid, the first Black person to be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1968, will discuss House races and the current political mood in Virginia less than three weeks from Election Day.

Fergie Reid, Jr. can be found on Blue Sky and twitter (twitter is the real name) at 90for90...

EP63 - Health Care and Rural Politics: Lynlee Thorne of Rural GroundGame. “If we share a core belief that every person has inherent value, is deserving of dignity, respect, and equity, we won’t allow challenging electoral math or long stretches of dirt road prevent us from showing we care by showing up.” — Rural GroundGame

On Episode 63 of the Black Virginia News podcast we discuss real issues that impact people in rural Virginia during an interview with Lynlee Thorne who is the Political Director of Rural GroundGame. We’ll discuss health care and other pocketbook priorities that are the is...

EP62 - Analysis of the Virginia Attorney General’s Race: State of Play on Jay with Paul Goldman. In podcast episode 62 of the Black Virginia News podcast we have a discussion on the current state of the play for the Virginia Attorney General’s race

Attorney General Jason Miyares is working to keep the conversation off of his record as President Donald Trump continues to violate the constitution and send the military into American cities. A text messaging story that put the spotlight on his Democratic challenger, former Delegate Jay Jones, has assisted Miyares a great deal in c...

EP61 - Race for Governor: Earle-Sears vs. Spanberger Debate Analysis. The first and only debate of the 2025 race for Governor of Virginia took place tonight at Norfolk State University. On episode 61 we look at the first few moments of a historic conversation featuring two woman as the major party candidates for the first time in Virginia’s history.

Republican nominee, Lt. Governor Winsome Earle Sears and Democratic nominee and former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger spoke on issues facing Virginia for an hour. But one issue dominated the first section of the hour: The issue around private text messages se...

EP60 - Interview with Cat Porterfield. Black Virginia News podcast 60 features an interview with the Democratic nominee for the Virginia House of Delegates in House District 99, Cat Porterfield. District 99 features Virginia Beach.

Porterfield talks with Lauren Burke about the issues she’s hearing about from voters in Virginia House District 99 and discusses the state of play in her race as the campaign heads into the final weeks. With only 27 days left in the 2025 campaign, many believe that a wave election is likely in Virginia — but in an era of unpredictable news anything is possible.

Porterfield is c...

EP59 - GOP Hypocrisy on Violence and Jay Jones with Paul Goldman. Richmond attorney Paul Goldman, a former Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, weighs in on the current state of play in the race for Attorney General in Virginia.

There are only 30 days left to Election Day in Virginia. Early voting began on September 19. Last week a controversy arose in the race between Republican Jason Miyares and Democratic challenger and former Delegate Jay Jones when private text messages from Jones to a Republican delegate became public. In podcast episode 59, Goldman and Lauren Burke discuss brazen...

A LOOK AT THE VIRGINIA GOVERNOR’S RACE. Podcast 58 features Sam Shirazi, the host of Federal Fallout: The 2025 Virginia Elections and Lauren Burke discussing the race for Governor of Virginia. The 2025 race for Governor features sitting Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee, against former Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger, a former member of Congress.

Thank you for listening and thanks to all of our subscribers. RATE THIS PODCAST ON APPLE PODCASTS 🥰 Contact us at: Tips@blackvirginia.news Subscribe to Black Virginia News! Follow us on BlueSky and Facebook | We give you the no BS truth in an era o...

LOOMING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN! As Congress fails to reach agreement on funding bills or a continuing resolution, the federal government is on the brink of shutting down at midnight tonight. A major question point of disagreement is whether a deal can be reached on health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

Black Virginia News podcast 57 features Virginia U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott and Jennifer McClellan discussing the state of play hours before midnight. This podcast also includes audio of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke.

If a shutdown takes...

EP56 - More Money Talk: Virginia Politics and Money with Josh Stanfield. This podcast is part two of a discussion on money and politics in Virginia.

Below: Wilder Commission Report attached. "Public Service, Public Trust" from December 1992

Josh Stanfield leads Activate Virginia and writes the substack Virginia Politics Revealed.

The reality of contemporary politics is that money is dominating everything: Candidate time, policy focus and what’s discussed and ignored. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2010 in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission campaigns have become increasingly expensive. In Virg...

EP55 - Money in Politics in Virginia with Attorney Phil Thompson. In this episode of the Black Virginia News podcast Loudoun attorney Philip Thompson and Lauren Burke discuss money and politics in Virginia. After a blowup on social media on the topic we can see that there are a lot of issues connected to fundraising, vendors and the growing size of donations in Virginia.

In a political world where candidates are told they have to raise money to even be considered as viable, money has played an outsized role in politics — particularly since the U.S. Supreme Co...

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed a bill into law that included the largest cut to Medicaid in history. The legislation, H.R. 1, threatens the health coverage of over 15 million people in the U.S. In the crosshairs of those cuts are rural hospitals, which is why Republicans included a multi-billion dollar “fund” to assist with a major budgetary shortfall for most facilities when Medicaid payments stop.

Since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010, Republicans on the federal level have fought to dismantle the law in the courts and legislatively. In Virginia, Medi...

EP53 - BATTLEGROUNDS with FERGIE REID, JR.— Fergie Reid, Jr. is the son of historic Virginia House of Delegates member William Ferguson "Fergie" Reid, Sr. In 1968, the senior Reid became the first African-American elected to the Virginia General Assembly since the days of Reconstruction. In this episode of the Black Virginia News podcast Reid, Jr, and Lauren Burke discuss battleground races for the Virginia House of Delegates.

Fergie Reid, Jr. has been recently quoted in The Virginia Mercury and The Nation for his relentless effort to recruit candidates to run for the Virginia House of Delegates in Vi...

EP52 - Health Care and Messaging with U.S. Reps. Jennifer McClellan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett. On May 15, 2025 Lauren Burke spoke with three members of Congress on Democratic messaging as the party fights House Republicans on cuts to health care and aid to the poor.

The Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress are pushing historic cuts to parts of the federal government and attempting to dismantle Medicaid. Democrats on the Energy & Commerce Committee showed a lot of communication strategy at a 26 hour marathon hearing this week. What happens next will be a result of who can...

EP51 - The Race for the Virginia House: Dems Go 100 for 100 with Fergie Reid, Jr. - This week Virginia Democrats hit a milestone: They have a candidate running in all one hundred seats for the Virginia House in 2025. Even in deep red rural areas of the Commonwealth, Democrats have a candidate. This podcast with featuring Fergie Reid, Jr., who recruited many of the candidates, explains why that matters.

Follow Fergie Reid Jr. on Bluesky at @90for90.bsky.social

It’s been years since Virginia Democrats have fielded a candidate in all of the 100 House of De...

EP50 - John Reid, History and Blackmail? with Paul Goldman. On episode 50 of the Black Virginia News podcast Lauren Burke talks with attorney Paul Goldman about the unprecedented state of play around Republican Lt. Governor nominee John Reid after Gov. Glenn Youngkin contacted him to drop out of the 2025 race for Lieutenant Governor. Goldman, the former campaign manager for L. Douglas Wilder, will analyze the history of smear campaigns in politics in Virginia.

This podcast analyzes the current moment involving John Reid and goes over the history related to Mary Sue Terry, Justin Fairfax and L. Douglas...

EP49 - Rep. Jennifer McClellan's Town Hall in Richmond. At a town hall on April 23, 2025, held at Mosby Memorial Baptist Church in Richmond, Rep. Jennifer McClellan addressed pressing concerns from constituents during a pivotal moment for the nation. This podcast covers the first seven questions of McClellan’s two hall with constituents — her second in two days. Representing Virginia’s fourth district, the Congresswoman fielded questions on key issues including Medicaid, Social Security, the protection of democracy, cuts to grant money for Richmond’s water infrastructure and efforts to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.

Rep. Jennifer McClellan is the firs...

EP48 - Fergie Reid Jr. on the 2025 Virginia House Races - In this episode, Dr. Fergie Reid Jr., a prominent voting rights advocate and the son of civil rights pioneer Dr. William Ferguson Reid Sr., who became the first African American elected to the Virginia General Assembly after Reconstruction in 1968, offers his perspective on the 2025 Virginia House of Delegates races. Reid’s analysis sits up against the uneasy backdrop of the chaos of Donald Trump's return to The White House. Reid also talks about the record number of Blacks and women running for the Virginia House in 2025.

Ch...

On April 1, 2025, Congressman Bobby Scott hosted a panel that focused on the civil rights agenda at a moment of adversity as the Trump Administration attempts to undo 70 years of progress. This podcast covers three of the speakers who participated in that event.

The panel showcased advocates in the trenches from the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU. With the backdrop of U.S. Senator Cory Booker speaking against Trump on the floor of the U.S. Senate in protests to Trump’s policies, the civil rights panel did an overview of the state of le...

EP46 👷🏽‍♀️ Advice for Federal Workers. The onslaught of news of mass firings of federal employees has thousands of workers in the DMV on edge. Hundreds of federal employees are looking for advice during a tumultuous time. The Trump Administration is attempting to dismantle thousands of jobs of federal government employees and contractors. The impact on Virginia and the DMV will mean big economic changes in the region.

At one of many forums in the Virginia, DC and Maryland area (“the DMV”), financial expert Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post and employment expert Walter Simmons spoke at a March 1, 2025 fo...

EP45 - Tributes to Henry Marsh III - This episode features tributes to former attorney, State Senator and Richmond Mayor Henry Marsh who passed away at 91 on January 23, 2025.

Moments after a major commemoration on the morning of January 24 in the Virginia State Capitol took place in honor of the first Black members of the General Assembly, news of Marsh’s death prompted lawmakers to post tributes to the noted civil rights attorney. This podcast features Congressman Bobby Scott, State Senators L. Louise Lucas and Mamie Locke and Delegate Delores McQuinn of Richmond.

EP43 - EXCLUSIVE! 🚨 Speaker Don Scott Pardoned by President Biden - An Exclusive Interview. Today, January 19, 2025, in the final hours of the presidency of President Joseph Biden, the President grants a pardon to five individuals including Virginia House Speaker Don Scott of Portsmouth.

Don Scott was arrested in 1994 for a non-violent drug offense. In this episode we discuss his reaction to today’s breaking news, including how his mother reacted and what being pardon means to him. This exclusive interview was recorded on the morning on January 19, 2025, the day before Martin Luther King’s Birthday and the inaugur...

Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, who represents Virginia’s fourth congressional district, is a veteran of Virginia politics. With Donald Trump entering his second term in office, Rep. McClellan and her colleagues have a political fight on their hands against MAGA Republicans who want to end the civil service, gut Social Security and move federal employees out of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

McClellan served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2006 to 2017. She then served in the Virginia Senate from 2017 to 2023. In 2023, McClellan handily won a competitive special election for Congress and became the first Black woman in Virginia’s hi...

AN INTERVIEW WITH VIRGINIA’S 58th SPEAKER DON SCOTT. Tomorrow, January 8, 2025, the Virginia General Assembly will convene at noon. This episode of the Black Virginia News podcast features Virginia’s 58th Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott of Portsmouth, Virginia.

Twelve days out from the start of the second White House term of Donald Trump, the Virginia General Assembly begins its work with a divided government controlled by the Democrats on the legislative level and a Republican Governor, Glenn Youngkin.

But Youngkin is entering his last year in the governor’s mansion. What might...

EP41 - Winsome Sears, Youngkin and Trump in Salem, Virginia. On November 2, 2024, former President Donald Trump held a presidential campaign rally in Salem, Virginia.

Many are asking: Why? Virginia is not seen as being “in play” regarding the 2024 race for The White House between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump.

But there they were: Governor Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Governor Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares, among many other top Republicans in Virginia, in Salem only four days before Election Day.

Even more interesting: Only two years ago, Lt. Governor Sears was...

EP39 - U.S. Supreme Court Ignores Federal Law, Allows Youngkin Vote Purge of Lawful Voters in Virginia. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the morning of Oct. 30, 2024 that Virginia could continue to purge voters from the rolls even though a federal law mandates there be no voter purges 90 days before an election. They provided no details as to their legal reasoning.

The three SCOTUS members who were nominated by Democrats, Associate Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson, voted against the decision to allow the vote purge to move forward.

When Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin...

EP40 - Jeffries in Virginia. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made stops in Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Prince William over the last five days in an effort to assist Democrats in close races that will decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives

The man who could be the next Speaker of the U.S. House if Democrats win back the majority, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, campaigned at three Black owned businesses in Suffolk, Virginia alongside Missy Cotter Smasal who is the Democratic nominee running against Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans.

On October 27 Jeffries stood...

DAY 21 OF A PARTY IN CRISIS. ♟️ Who knew that the nominating process meant nothing when Biden received millions of votes during the 2024 primary season?

In a never before seen moment in American political history, a former President, a former Speaker of the House and Democratic party leaders of the U.S. House and Senate are urging the candidate of their party to abandon a presidential race less than 110 days before Election Day.

As Republicans begin the final day of their national convention in Milwaukee, Democrats are in meltdown over who their nominee will be for pres...

EP37: Biden State of Play as Biden Goes on Offense. Lauren Burke and Paul Goldman discuss the current state of play as Democrats deal with the fallout of a June 27, 2024 debate in which their nominee for President, Joe Biden, appeared mentally confused and tired up against former President Trump. After 11 days of very public criticism from fellow Democrats, Biden and his team moved fast to get on offense.

With the support of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, President Joe Biden mounted a strong response to his critics on a news packed July 8, 2024.<...

EP36: Joe Biden: Black Base is Ridin' with Biden Before a Make or Break Week. With only 120 days until election day and 43 days until the DNC Convention in Chicago, President Joe Biden’s presidential run for re-election is at a tipping point. As concerns about his mental ability to run an energetic campaign against former President Donald Trump, Biden is being challenged by members of his own party to leave the race.

This podcast will focus on how this moment arrived, what the state of play is currently and what is likely to happen next. It will als...

EP35: At a Trump get-out-the-vote rally in Chesapeake, Virginia on June 28, 2024, the Commonwealth’s 74th Governor, Glenn Youngkin, did what he avoided doing all 2021 long: He embraced Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.

Youngkin also embraced Trump’s dangerous rhetoric on a topic he rarely mentioned during his successful 2021 campaign as he defeated Terry McAuliffe: Immigration.

But in Chesapeake on June 28, Youngkin linked “illegal immigrants” to violent crimes — specifically murder and sexual violence. That specific language is a cornerstone of Trump’s racist play to incentivize white suburban voters.

The use of anecdotes to vilify million...

THE JUNE 18, 2024 PRIMARY. On episode 34 🎙️ of the Black Virginia News podcast Fergie Reid and Lauren Burke discuss their 5 takeaways after the June 18, 2024 primary in Virginia.

Republican Rep. Bob Good and State Senator John McGuire’s contest is so close they're still counting ballots. State Senator Suhas Subramanyan won over Del. Dan Helmer after a suspiciously timed and unproven allegation from 2018 targeted at Helmer in the last days of the primary campaign.

Attorney Leslie Mehta prevailed over retired Army Colonel Herb Jones. Eugene Vindman has a formidable opponent in Virginia’s 7th congressional district. The power of an und...

In a world where internet rumor is viewed by some as fact and what’s posted can change the course of history, even when no facts have been confirmed, it’s becoming standard practice expect social media driven drama in the last days of political campaigns.

The race for Virginia’s tenth congressional district is slowly taking on the look of something that happened in Virginia in 2019 during the blackface scandal that threatened to end the Governorship of Ralph Northam in Feb. 2019. Suspiciously timed allegations are nothing new in politics. But in 2019, the timing perfectly coincided with the ne...