WHEREAS, Mount Olive Cemetery is a historically African American cemetery located in the Berkley neighborhood of the City of Norfolk; and

WHEREAS, Mount Olive Cemetery is at least 196 years old according to burial records and has served as the final resting place for more than 100 veterans of the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War; and

WHEREAS, for more than two decades, the Berkley Historical Society has maintained the grounds of the Mount Olive Cemetery with assistance from families of the interred, the American Legion Attucks Post 5, the Norfolk Sheriff's Office, and the City of Norfolk's Parks and Urban Forestry unit; and

WHEREAS, the Mount Olive Cemetery is the final resting place for notable Norfolk and Berkley citizens, such as the Reverend Miles Lassiter, Dr. William Mapp, A.J.J. Sykes, and J.A. Blount, who was murdered for assisting African American citizens exercising their right to vote; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Mount Olive Cemetery in Norfolk hereby be commended for its historical and cultural significance to the Commonwealth; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the stewards of Mount Olive Cemetery as an expression of the House of Delegates' respect for its significance to the Commonwealth.