SUNDAY, MARCH 6 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU C5
ation in admissions to gover-
nor’s schools, said simply ensur-
ing that various groups have
equitable access to an elite insti-
tution isn’t the answer.
“Creating equity and diversity
in a governor’s school doesn’t
create opportunity for success,”
Davis said, if students who come
from a disadvantaged back-
ground aren’t prepared for the
rigorous curriculum. “Without
equal access to opportunity, you
won’t have ultimate success,” he
said.
The crusade against equity
strikes Del. Don L. Scott Jr.
( D-Portsmouth) as especially
confounding because Youngkin
took such a different tone when
he led the Carlyle Group. Young-
kin and co-CEO Kewsong Lee
hired a chief diversity officer
and put out a strongly worded
statement condemning “racism
and injustices” in the aftermath
of George Floyd’s murder in
2020.
Youngkin and Lee promised
special matching donations to
organizations working for “so-
cial justice,” identifying the
Equal Justice Initiative, the
Southern Poverty Law Center
and the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund. Youngkin left Carlyle in
2020, but its current diversity
policy states that it is aimed at
“the ongoing development of a
work environment built on the
premise of gender and diversity
equity.”
“Now, because of politics, he’s
made that word one of his words
to take out,” Scott said. “He’s
abandoning equity. And I think
that’s really, really sad. He’s gone
so far to the right on that issue —
and he’s a smart guy, so he
knows what he’s doing, because
he knows all about equity in the
corporate world.”strict segregation. Redlining
kept African Americans from
living in the best neighbor-
hoods. Black neighborhoods
were destroyed by urban renew-
al and highway projects. Schools
were closed for years at a t ime
rather than integrate, with
White children going to private
academies.
“Over 300 years of impact of
Jim Crow did not go away like a
magic wand when the laws were
changed,” McClellan said. “And
we have to meet our students
where they are. We cannot as-
sume they all start from the
same starting block because
they don’t. We cannot assume
that they all have a straight path
from when they show up in
kindergarten to when they grad-
uate because they don’t.”
Some Republicans say they
agree with that concept, even as
they argue against the idea of
equity-based policies.
“If you’re identifying someone
that has started off with disad-
vantages that are, like, no fault
of their own, I think all of us
agree that we want to be able to,
you know, facilitate ways that
that person can have access to
things that they might not have
access to within their current
circumstances,” said Del. Nick
Freitas (R-Culpeper), who car-
ried the bill to remove equity
from the name of the state’s
diversity office.
But the solution, Freitas said,
should not be about measuring
outcomes. “It should be more
about measuring did somebody
that wanted an opportunity,
who was working hard toward
that opportunity, were they able
to go after it?” he said.
Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr. (R-Vir-
ginia Beach), who sponsored a
bill to remove race as a consider-and short — are trying to watch
a baseball game over a fence.
Equality means each child gets
the same size box to stand on,
but that doesn’t help the short-
est child see over the fence.
Equity means the shortest child
gets a bigger box, so they all can
see.
Guidera, the education secre-
tary, said last week’s interim
report on education policies
found that equity “was used to
prioritize activities, discussions
and policies around why stu-
dents weren’t achieving based
on their race rather than focus-
ing on the essential work of
ensuring every learner is on
track for success.”
Based on the report, state
superintendent Jillian Balow re-
scinded eight broad areas of
guidance for teachers and prin-
cipals, including the entire EdE-
quityVA website. Balow cited the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a basis
for deeming the policies “dis-
criminatory.”
Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-Fair-
fax) decried the “convoluted log-
ic” of that stance in a House floor
speech last week. “A law that was
passed to eliminate discrimina-
tion is being used to justify
discrimination,” he said.
The report’s attack on equity,
he said, “seems to suggest that
the obligation of government is
to offer conditions without a
responsibility to see that all
students can achieve under
them.”
State Sen. Jennifer L. McClel-
lan (D-Richmond), who is Black,
said the report ignores the im-
pact of a long list of state
policies that targeted people of
color. Virginia’s Racial Integrity
Act of 1924 required all people to
be categorized as “white” or
“colored” to power a system ofnor’s school admissions policies
remains alive; the critical race
theory measures were killed by
Democrats who control the state
Senate, but Youngkin has sig-
naled he will pursue the matter
through executive action.
Many Black lawmakers view
his emphasis on both critical
race theory and equity as a nod
to national political audiences,
especially conservatives who
have pushed back against issues
of historical racism raised by the
social justice protests of 2020.
“I honestly see this as his
effort to totally whitewash his-
tory,” said Del. Jeion A. Ward
( D-Hampton), another senior
Black Caucus member. “If he
could erase it all so we never
have to study it, and it never
happened, we’re just going to
cover it all up. So all the inequi-
ties are gone, all the racism is
gone, all the discrimination is
gone because we have just
whitewashed it and now — bam!
— it never existed.”
To Ward and others, the idea
of equity is central to the goal of
achieving true equality because
it involves confronting the lin-
gering impact of past injustices.
“Equity is the acknowledg-
ment that we all don’t have the
same opportunities available to
us because we, in this country,
have systemic racism and dis-
crimination that creates barriers
for different groups of people,”
said Jatia Wrighten, a political
scientist at Virginia Common-
wealth University who studies
race and state legislatures.
RISE, a national nonprofit
that advocates for social justice
in athletics, explains the differ-
ence between equality and equi-
ty with a cartoon that sometimes
circulates on social media:
Three children — tall, mediumamassed a fortune as the head of
private equity giant the Carlyle
Group. But just as equity in the
business world means having a
financial stake in something,
Republicans say equity in the
policy world suggests reward.
They instead use the word
equality, which from this point
of view means everyone has an
opportunity and success is up to
the individual.
“Equity seems to be equity of
outcomes,” said Del. A.C. Cordo-
za (R-Hampton), the only Black
Republican in the House of
Delegates. “It can be seen as
erasing someone’s hard work for
someone who has not done the
same thing.”
That position mirrors the flap
that greeted President Biden last
year when his first executive
orders called for racial equity
across the federal government
and the nation, prompting con-
servatives to complain that he
was abandoning the concept of
equality.
“Equity has lost its traditional
definition in the field of educa-
tion,” Virginia Education Secre-
tary Aimee Rogstad Guidera
said in a written statement after
The Washington Post asked
Youngkin’s office to talk about
the issue. “Formerly, equity re-
ferred to the practice of provid-
ing equal access and opportuni-
ties to every learner. Increasing-
ly, equity means that everyone
achieves the same outcome.”
Republican opposition to the
concept has fueled efforts in this
year’s General Assembly to elim-
inate race-based admissions pol-
icies at elite governor’s schools
and to outlaw the teaching of
critical race theory, an academic
framework for studying the his-
tory of systemic racism. A bill
that sets standards for gover-mer governor Ralph Northam’s
blackface yearbook scandal in
2019 and accelerated with the
racial justice protests following
the murder of George Floyd by
Minneapolis police in 2020.
Northam was able to hold
onto his job and rebuild support
around the state partly by pledg-
ing to fight racial inequity, and
he overhauled policies to seek
equity in everything from hiring
to education and maternal mor-
tality rates.
Youngkin tapped a completely
different political vein in his
successful bid for office last year,
appealing to parents fed up with
school shutdowns related to the
coronavirus and stirring the
White GOP base with promises
to ban “critical race theory” in
the classroom.
His success in what had
seemed to be a blue state
marked a path for other Repub-
licans nationally and vaulted
Youngkin’s name onto lists of
potential presidential contend-
ers. But his new drive to elimi-
nate the word equity — which
was not a topic of the election
campaign — has inflamed racial
tension in the state legislature
even as the new governor calls
for unity and seeks to connect
with Black lawmakers.
“I need to ask Governor
Youngkin, what is so offensive
about that word?” Del. Delores
L. McQuinn (D-Richmond), a
senior member of the Black
Caucus, said in an interview.
“People who... feel that there
have been inequities that have
occurred as a result of who they
are and the color of their skin...
we still know what it is.”
Youngkin certainly knows one
sense of the word, having
EQUITY FROM C1
Youngkin takes aim at ‘equity,’ igniting conflict in Virginia legislature
BY OVETTA WIGGINSMaryland Republican guber-
natorial candidate Robin Ficker
was disbarred from practi cing
law under a ruling from the
state’s top court after a com-
plaint initiated by the Attorney
Grievance Commission.
The Maryland Court of Ap-
peals said in its ruling Thursday
that Ficker has been the subject
of a long history of complaints of
professional misconduct that ex-
pand over three generations of
the bar counsel.
Ficker, in a three-way race for
the Republican nomination, said
in an email Saturday that the
ruling was “a political decision
by recent political appointees. ...
My clients love me. It is judges
and lawyers complaining.”
An outspoken and colorful
perennial candidate who has
launched bids for various state
and local offices, Ficker is run-
ning for governor with a plan to
cut the sales tax by 2 cents.
According to the ruling, the
disbarment stems from a case in
which Ficker failed to appear for
trial and made other missteps.
Ficker wrote in the email that
the case is from “more than 3
years ago, was a driving without
a license case I w as doing for free
where the client did not show
and still has not shown up.”
According to the 39-page rul-
ing, Ficker has been disciplined
for professional misconduct
eight times.
The past charges date back to
1990 and include failure to ap-
pear in court, failure to ad-
equately prepare for cases and
lack of candor to the court. They
resulted in reprimands and sus-
pensions.
Ficker, who was once a legend-
ary sports heckler, also works in
real estate.
He is competing against for-
mer Maryland commerce secre-
tary Kelly Schulz, an ally of Gov.
Larry Hogan, and Del. Daniel
Cox (Frederick), who is endorsed
by former president Donald
Trump, for the Republican nomi-
nation.
The Maryland primary is June
28.MARYLANDRepublican
hopeful for
governor i s
disbarred
BY OVETTA WIGGINSPrince George’s County Execu-
tive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) on
Saturday declared her support for
Wes Moore in his bid to become
Maryland’s next governor, giving
him a coveted endorsement in the
crowded Democratic primary.
Alsobrooks, who leads one of
the most populous counties in the
state, is the highest-profile elected
official in Maryland to back
Moore in his first bid for public
office. She is also the second coun-
ty executive to endorse the author
and former nonprofit chief. Anne
Arundel County Executive Steuart
Pittman (D) announced his sup-
port for Moore six months ago.
Alsobrooks called Moore “the
leader we need in this moment.”
“I have seen Wes Moore con-
nect with people and bring them
together to chart a vision for the
future,” she said in a statement. “It
is clear Wes Moore has the vision,
integrity, and the ability to move
our state forward and deliver for
families in Prince George’s County
and across Maryland.”
The announcement coincided
with a rally in Upper Marlboro,where Moore and his running
mate, Aruna Miller, opened a field
office.
Moore drew early support from
several elected officials from the
Baltimore region, including long-
time state Sen. Delores G. Kelley
(D-Baltimore County) and Del.
Stephanie M. Smith and Sen. An-
tonio L. Hayes (D-Baltimore City).
He also has won the backing of
several elected officials in the
Washington region, including
Montgomery County Council
member Will Jawando (D-At
Large), state Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan
(D-Montgomery) and Susie Turn-
bull, former state Democratic Par-
ty chair and former candidate for
lieutenant governor.
Alsobrooks, once considered a
possible gubernatorial candidate
herself, decided last May not to
enter the race, and instead chose
to run for reelection. Her support
could provide significant help for
Moore in voter-rich Prince
George’s County.
“This movement we are build-
ing is about bringing together
great leaders across the state and
working with communities to
make Maryland a place where wedo not leave people behind,”
Moore said in a statement. “I have
long admired County Executive
Angela Alsobrooks as a fierce
fighter for Prince Georgians, and I
am so honored for her support.”
Alsobrooks’s endorsement of
Moore is expected to be a blow to
other Democrats vying for the
nomination, especially former
Prince George’s County executive
Rushern L. Baker III, who is mak-
ing his second straight bid for
governor. Baker served two terms
leading the county before Also-
brooks took office.
Baker won the backing of nine
of the 11 members of the Prince
George’s County Council last sum-
mer. But it is unclear how much
momentum Baker’s campaign
has. According to January fund-
raising reports, Baker took in
abo ut $128,000 from October to
January, and listed $63,000 as
cash on hand. Campaign officials
said Baker raised the required in-
state donations needed to qualify
for seed money from public fi-
nancing.
Moore collected about $4
m illion from April to January, the
largest fundraising haul in thefield. Among his rivals for the
nomination, he was followed by
State Comptroller Peter Franchot
(D), former U.S. labor secretary
Tom Perez and former U.S. educa-
tion secretary John B. King Jr.,
who each reported a little more
than half of Moore’s total. But
Moore is also spending more, ac-
cording to recent reports.
The other Democrats in the
1 0-way race are former Maryland
attorney general Douglas F. Gan-
sler, former Anne Arundel County
executive Laura Neuman, former
nonprofit executive Jon Baron,
former Montgomery County
Council candidate Ashwani Jain,
and socialist activist Jerome Se-
gal.
Democrats are seeking to re-
claim the governor’s mansion
from Republicans, who have won
three of the past five gubernatori-
al elections even though Demo-
crats outnumber Republicans in
the state by a 2-to-1 margin. Inde-
pendents make up about 20
p ercent of Maryland’s electorate,
and their numbers have been
growing in recent years.
The Maryland primary is
June 28.M ARYLANDAlsobrooks endorses Moore in crowded race for governor
BY PETER HERMANN
AND DAN LAMOTHEA man from Indiana who was
arrested after police said he
drove to the Ukrainian Embassy
in Georgetown with a shotgun to
volunteer to fight in the war
against Russia was released
from jail Friday.
Stephen Jay Struthers, 49, of
Lafaye tte, Ind., faces firearms
and weapons charges stemming
from his arrest Thursday. A D.C.
Superior Court judge ordered
Struthers to return to the Dis-
trict for a h earing April 6.
The U.S. attorney’s of fice said
it did not pursue charges against
a second man who was arrested
along with Struthers and ac-
cused of possessing prohibited
weapons, described by authori-
ties as a machete and a dagger.
Struthers could not be
reached Friday, and Struthers’s
attorney said he would not com-
ment, because he had not re-
viewed the case.An arrest affidavit says uni-
formed officers with the Secret
Service grew suspicious of the
men standing outside the em-
bassy and stopped their vehicle
when they drove away. Police
said one man was dressed inmilitary-style fatigues.
The affidavit said Struthers
told officers they had come to
the embassy with a “shotgun and
some blades” to “volunteer to
fight for Ukraine.”
Police said they found a shot-
gun, a machete, seven knives,
brass knuckles, a sling and a
laser pointer in the vehicle. Offi-
cials had said Thursday that they
had also found two handguns,
but those weapons were not
listed in the affidavit.
Both men served in the Army,
said Madison Bonzo, a service
spokeswoman.
Struthers served in the Army
Reserve from November 1989 to
March 2001 as a material han-
dling specialist and as a fire-sup-
port specialist in the active-duty
Army from March 2001 to De-
cember 2002. He deployed to
Kuwait from December 1990 to
August 1991, serving during the
Persian Gulf War, and he left the
military as a specialist, Bonzo
said.
The other man — who is notbeing identified, because he
does not face criminal charges —
was an infantryman and served
in Iraq for about a year. He left
the Army as a sergeant, Bonzo
said.
On Monday, the Secret Service
said another man was arrested
at the Ukrainian Embassy after
he drove to the District from
Nebraska. An arrest affidavit
says he stood at attention at the
embassy’s entrance draped in an
American flag.
Police said they questioned
him when he started to put on a
ballistic vest. He told police,
according to the affidavit, he had
come to “fight for Ukraine.”
Angel Raymond Luna, 30, was
charged with several firearms
offenses. Police said they found
two guns and ammunition in his
vehicle.
His attorney, John L. Macha-
do, said Luna has been released
and has a court hearing set for
April. He would not comment on
his client but said he did not
dispute the account from police.THE DISTRICT
Man charged with bringing weapons to embassy i s arraigned
PETER EISLER/REUTERS
Secret Service officers search a car with Indiana license plates a
few blocks away from the Ukrainian Embassy in D.C. on Thursda y.He told police that
he drove from Indiana
to ‘fight for Ukraine’BY MARTIN WEILPart of what made Saturday
seem so much like spring was ob-
viously the warmth, w hich arrived
days ahead of schedule. It may also
have been the bright sun and the
breezes from the south.
But perhaps we ought also con-
sider the contribution that comes
from the gradual d ecline of our
residual fears of s now.
S aturday marked more than
five weeks — a nd exactly t hree
dozen days — since Washington’s
last officially measurable snow-
fall.
Possibly it could snow again.
But maybe Saturday’s no-snow
milestone l ends needed support to
our hopes of having seen the last of
it. Perhaps Saturday authorized
even the most s now-phobic to be-
lieve that memories of J an. 28 may
now be dismissed. The 0.12 inches
that fell that day was our last
measurable snow.
Our taste of spring also seemed
well served by Saturday’s h igh
temperature of 61. It matches the
average high for M arch 29, which,
of course, is almost April.
THE REGION
Warmth raises hope
last snow has fallen
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