A controversial sign at an Arlington transgender rights rally last week is prompting public condemnation from organizers and invigorating supporters of Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears.
The sign in question reads, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom then Blacks can’t share my water fountain.” It went viral on social media following a post on X from the Arlington GOP.
The original tweet went out during a rally outside an Arlington School Board meeting, where Earle-Sears spoke against the school system’s current policy of letting transgender students use facilities that match their gender identity. It immediately attracted attention from GOP figures at the state and national level and bipartisan criticism.
Let’s check in on white progressive women in Arlington. pic.twitter.com/P3zGFXXxU5
— Arlington GOP (@goparlington) August 21, 2025
This included statements from Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Ghazala Hashmi and Democratic governor candidate Abigail Spanberger, who condemned the sign as “racist and abhorrent.”
“Many Virginians remember the segregated water fountains (and buses and schools and neighborhoods) of Virginia’s recent history,” Spanberger wrote on Friday morning. “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.”
The original tweet has earned over four million views on X as of today (Monday) and, according to today’s Arlington GOP newsletter, has received coverage in over a dozen outlets.
“This single tweet put the entire Virginia Democrat campaign infrastructure into a tailspin,” Arlington GOP Chair Matthew Hurtt wrote in this morning’s email blast to supporters.
Organizers from Equality Arlington, the Arlington Gender Identity Alliance and the Arlington County Democratic Committee — all of which had a presence at the event — have issued statements attempting to distance themselves from the sign, which they condemned as racist.
“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,” Arlington Democrats posted on Friday. “Racism and discrimination of all forms — including Republican attacks on our transgender community — have no place in Arlington.”
The Arlington GOP has pointed to an Arlington Dems Facebook post from November 2023, which appears to show the activist who held the sign volunteering as a poll greeter. Conservative critics have also noted that the protester, an older white woman, was wearing a shirt with the logo for We of Action, a group that was instrumental in widespread “No Kings” protests in Arlington ahead of the D.C. military parade in June.
“We of Action (WofA) unequivocally condemn the racist sign displayed at the Arlington Public School Board meeting,” a statement on WofA Virginia’s website reads. “The words on that sign were unacceptable, deeply harmful, and stand in direct opposition to everything that our organization represents.”
The protester is no longer affiliated with the organization and was never a member of the group’s leadership, WofA said.
“We recognize the pain this incident has caused and are deeply sorry that our community was hurt,” the organization said. “WofA will never tolerate racist rhetoric. We will continue working alongside Virginians of all backgrounds to fight for justice, equality and opportunity for all.”
Equality Arlington President Kellen MacBeth told ARLnow that no one on his organization’s board was aware of the sign’s message until after they left the Arlington School Board meeting. The sign was two-faced, and the side visible to most attendees read, “Hey Winsome, you have a gender neutral bathroom in your house.”
However, one video shows Arlington Democrats Chair Steve Baker addressing the person holding the sign during the School Board meeting.
“That’s getting a lot of play on TV right now,” Baker is heard whispering. “Negative.”
“Our rally for inclusive policies rooted in love and acceptance was undercut by one woman’s decision to direct a racist message to the Lt. Governor,” MacBeth said in a text. “Her message is the antipathy of everything we stand for.”
Democratic political consultant Ben Tribbett criticized the decision to host a rally at an event that Earle-Sears attended but Spanberger did not.
“It reflects on everyone in the party really badly, all the way up [to] our candidates that have nothing to do with it and are now taking the brunt of this pushback — because the Arlington Democrats decided that they could go handle the messaging of a statewide campaign more effectively than the statewide candidate,” he said.
Tribbett criticized organizers for not intervening immediately and tied the incident to deeper problems that he sees in Arlington’s Democratic party.
“The party has a problem that it has not been addressing, and it is woke white people that want to speak on behalf of every other group,” he said. “That is not allyship. It is not helpful. And I think the sign is an example of that.”
