Woman Behind Racist Sign at Sears Event Allegedly Tied to Spanberger, Democrats
“We unequivocally condemn the racist sign displayed at last night’s School Board rally. The individual responsible is not affiliated with us.”
Last week, people across the political spectrum were stunned when a protester appeared at a campaign event for Virginia Lt. Gov. and Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, brandishing a vile, racist sign. The elderly white liberal woman’s sign read, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then blacks can’t share my water fountain.” LI covered this story here.
Fox News reported earlier in the week that the U.S. Department of Education had “designated five Northern Virginia schools as ‘high-risk’ and placed restrictions on their federal funding.” These schools have recently faced criticism over policies related to transgender students’ access to bathrooms and locker rooms. On Thursday, the Arlington County School Board convened a meeting to address the controversy. Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears spoke at the meeting and later engaged with constituents outside the building, where the incident took place.
Earle-Sears is black; her family immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica in the 1970s.
Virginia Republican nominee for Governor @WinsomeSears is speaking out tonight at the Arlington County School Board meeting about boys being able to use the girl's bathroom.
This is a sign being held by a white liberal outside the meeting (Sears is a black woman).… pic.twitter.com/1ik4JBMbcY
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 21, 2025
Later that evening, Earle-Sears’ opponent in the race and former Dem. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s campaign was asked to comment on the sign. Her team issued a statement that said, “Abigail condemns this repulsive display. It’s racist, abhorrent, and unacceptable.”
12 hrs after @SpanbergerForVA’s own supporter & campaign volunteer lifted her racist sign to support a trans sex offender in public school girls’ bathrooms… still NO statement or video comments from Absent Abby. A few words “released” through friendly press… WHERE’S ABBY? https://t.co/Bj2Xcky0dp pic.twitter.com/sRNKzWYJRo
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) August 22, 2025
Spanberger was later pressed for a direct comment and replied in a Facebook post:
As I said yesterday, the sign displayed in Arlington last night was racist and abhorrent.
Many Virginians remember the segregated water fountains (and buses and schools and neighborhoods) of Virginia’s recent history. And no matter the intended purpose or tone and no matter how much one might find someone else’s beliefs objectionable, to threaten a return of Jim Crow and segregation to a Black woman is unacceptable. Full stop.
She would have done herself a big favor had she responded directly the first time, rather than through a subordinate.
The woman carrying the racist sign was ultimately identified by numerous sources as progressive activist Anita Martineau.
Curious who held up that racist sign in Virginia today attacking Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears?
She's a professional radical Democrat protestor called Anita Martineau. pic.twitter.com/EKLFBbhcCo
— John Artunkal (@JohnArtunkal) August 22, 2025
According to several sources, she is a campaign volunteer for the Spanberger campaign.
BREAKING: The woman who held up this sickening racist sign to protest Winsome Sears, has been identified as a campaign volunteer for Virginia Governor Democrat nominee Abigail Spanberger pic.twitter.com/uz6pl0yUqs
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 22, 2025
Hey Abigail. Is this the same woman that was holding the racist sign? Sure looks like her. Was she out knocking doors for Abi AFTER her racist attack against @WinsomeSears pic.twitter.com/CrToDFKfw3
— Victoria Manning (@BehindTheWallvm) August 23, 2025
If it can be proven that Martineau has indeed been knocking on doors for the Spanberger campaign, this incident is likely to escalate.
At the moment, the Arlington County Democratic Party is also trying to distance itself from Martineau. The group issued a 4-post statement on X that essentially said they “unequivocally condemn the racist sign” and that “the individual responsible is not affiliated with us.”
The Arlington Democrats issue the following statement:
1/4 pic.twitter.com/fKf4ATE5ar
— Arlington Democrats (@arlingtondems) August 22, 2025
“We unequivocally condemn the racist sign displayed at last night’s School Board rally. The individual responsible is not affiliated with us, and we acted quickly to alert the rally’s organizers and ensure the situation was addressed appropriately.
2/4
— Arlington Democrats (@arlingtondems) August 22, 2025
But the Arlington GOP begs to differ. They published several photos that show Martineau as “an official Election Greeter on Election Day 2023 – featured in both a Facebook post AND an Instagram reel.”
Arlington Democrats CLAIM Anita Martineau had no affiliation with them, but here she is as an official Election Greeter on Election Day 2023 — featured in both a Facebook post AND an Instagram reel: pic.twitter.com/WTyQHagH3l
— Arlington GOP (@goparlington) August 24, 2025
The Arlington GOP posted a video taken at the Earle-Sears event that shows Steve Baker, the Chairman of the Arlington Democrats, “giving her a heads up that her sign was going viral.”
If she had no affiliation with Arlington Democrats, then why is the Chairman — Steve Baker — giving her a head’s up that her sign was going viral? https://t.co/N5nRfEqKNZ
— Arlington GOP (@goparlington) August 24, 2025
Is it really possible that, after all the years Martineau has been active in the county’s Democratic Party, she never once revealed this racist side of herself? Or is the party only now scrambling to distance itself from her because she’s caused such a public spectacle?
Did she suddenly become unacceptable, or is it just that they’re feeling the heat?
My guess: it’s the latter.
Democrats have always been the party of racism.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
It’s not a racist sign. The powers of analysis on both left and right are awful.
It says that trans rights deserve the same reverence as black rights.
It takes black rights as a given so it’s hardly anti-black.
Yes it is, your argument to the contrary is several decades too late. The wokiesta leftist d/prog demanded it be so in our society and were not successfully opposed…so yes indeed any and every ‘dog whistle’ ever claimed by d/prog is absolutely fair game until the current climate is successfully altered back to a common sense interpretation that grants a bit of grace before society piles on and curb stomps the offender.
There is a difference between “faie game” for holding the Left to its own ridiculous standards and actual racism. It seems pretty clear to me that the sign was not objectively racist, nor dies it become racist simply because the politician to whom it was directed is black.
That said, if people want to call this woman a racist based not upon the real definition of racism but rather the Left’s Newspeak definition of racism, I think that is fine. Leftists should be forced to adhere to their own definitions.
F88k this b1tch. The left created the rules and now she’s being held to them! She got exactly what she deserved!!!
The distinction within our culture and society has been lost for some time. The prior common sense views based on reasoned analysis conducted in good faith and granting grace were replaced decades ago by the wokiestas. You are IOW pissing into the wind at this point. This particular cult war battle was long since lost and the wokiesta leftist d/prog won. The only way back is to take the ‘ists and isms’ stick the wokiestas wield against normies, sharpen it, then shove it so far up the wokiesta leftist d/prog behind that they realize their errors.
Weak troll game, that’s why kamala lost.
This is just a run of the mill racist. It’s been shown multiple times in their posts.
Remember those fake Tiki Torch people up in Virginia? Performance art
I painfully agree with rhhardin. It’s not racist, it’s merely insane to equate a small number of people’s lack of illegitimate access to opposite-sex restrooms to an entire race’s legitimate access to water fountains.
I’m not sure it is fair to tar a politician with the act of an insane supporter. But the Democrats lit the fire with which they are getting burned. That’s happening a lot lately, and I am unable to find any sympathy.
Reluctantly I have to agree. This Hardin argument is *marginally* better than his previous one. The sign isn’t racist, but the glare of the false equivalence can be seen out at the edge of the solar system. The sign is just stupid and retarded.
Yes. Dems lit the fire. May they burn forever in it.
If the sign was phrased as something like “Shutting trans out of bathrooms is like seperate bathrooms for blacks” I doubt it would’ve gotten the same level of pushback. Instead it was phrased as a tit-for-tat. Sure she probably doesn’t ACTUALLY believe we should bring racial segregation back, but it was still a cheap shot aimed at a Republican because she is black.
She was making Winsome the object of her attack, sending a message in a way she would understand personally. It was not racist. It was, arguably, a false comparison, but it’s not racist just because it was sharply worded.
And yes, boys can be girls, night can be day, right can be wrong, and there are none so blind as those close their eyes.
She’s saying that if we don’t except that men are women, she’s going to go Jim Crow on our asses. That’s the most honest leftist sign I’ve ever seen.
N0. The sign didn’t say what you said.
It said – can’t share my water fountain. WTF is that? So, whitey owns the plumbing and gets to decide? We aren’t created equal in the first place?
There are no equal rights in that sign. There is an edict by a certain group given to another group that does not share status without the first group’s say so.
It’s repulsive.
I don’t see it as racist either. I loathe Spanberger and wholeheartedly support Winsome but this is a tempest in a teapot Do the Republicans really want to travel down the same road as Dems where everything and everyone is a racist?
Disagree. The sign is aimed at all blacks. It is prima facie racist.
Disagree. The tard holding that sign is trying to make trannys in the girls locker room a civil rights issue like the water fountain thing. The left has tried to make every cause from gay marriage to this equivalent to slavery.
Yes. We want to travel the same road as the dems, meet them on their own terms, and curb stomp them decisively according to their own rules.
Yes. Until the Dems learn their lesson as to how such nonsense plays out, we hold them to their own standards good & hard.
Oh look, the racist doesn’t see anything wrong with the clearly racist sign. I’m shocked.
What’s the over/under on how many cats this loon has?
5
27
45 or maybe 47? 😂
I’ll go 3.
6
Does the first one count? I mean that’s the universal feline distribution system at work where the universe decides you don’t have one but need one and ..poof…a cat shows up to run your household as a mostly benevolent over lord … usually by immediately announcing that dinner is late and they are displeased with you, their new minion.
Just fed mine. I think she had some objections.
When you’re so brainwashed about the trans issue, that’s the sign you make. All authority on gender is relegated to an emotional declaration of a mentally ill man or woman.
Democrats lie in the face of evidence proving their lie. Do we really want them anywhere near government, at any level?
Yet another insane woman and of course an AWFUL dramacrat. There is no patriarchy and there has never been a formal one except perhaps in biblical times but perhaps one is needed. She should be placed in a sock and publicly ridiculed.
That should be stock but maybe a sock would do too.
One recently worn by an unwashed NFL linebacker would be quite aromatic, don’tcha think?
.
White leftist shouting in the face of blacks who don’t support trans sex offenders in public school restrooms that they are race traitors?
How many things are wrong with this?
why is this knowledge allowed??
Many Virginians remember the segregated water fountains (and buses and schools and neighborhoods) of Virginia’s recent history.
if they are going to wipe out facts that they dont like…such as
“people were killed in concentration camps..purposefully leaving out the genocide of the jewish people
then hammer them for their narrative!!
Aaaand she protected her Twitter account. Due to “death threats”. 100% certain from her own party for screwing up optics during a run up to an election.
Guess shrugging in response that your sign received negative play in the press didn’t work out so well.
“And no matter the intended purpose or tone and no matter how much one might find someone else’s beliefs objectionable, to threaten a return of Jim Crow and segregation to a Black woman is unacceptable. Full stop.”
If Spanberger had said “To threaten a return of Jim Crow and segregation to a Black woman is unacceptable. Full stop.” That would be an unequivocal condemnation of the racist sign. However, that is not what she said. The first half of the sentence is making an excuse for her actions. That is not what I call an unequivocal condemnation of the racist sign.
I long for the day when America stops obsessing over stopping racism.
That’ll be the day after we finally stop classifying, dividing, hiring, promoting, advancing, benefiting and punishing by race. Either we want to get to a ‘colorblind’ society where we don’t use race to create advantages or disadvantages based on immutable characteristics or we don’t. Gotta end the diversity olympics to get there and some people have too much of their grift tied up in it to meekly allow a truly colorblind, neutral merit based system to take its place.
All this incessant harping on racism achieves is to instill racist reflexes into well-meaning people who otherwise never would have suffered from them.
As long as we’re using leftist rules, she gets no Grace and day she gets the worst interpretation possible. Not at all surprised but that racist would be associated with Abigail Spanberger’s campaign