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2021 SPECIAL SESSION I

21200576D
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 606
Offered February 25, 2021
Celebrating the life of Ernest George Minns.
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Patrons-- Convirs-Fowler, Askew, Adams, D.M., Ayala, Carr, Cole, J.G., Delaney, Guy, Hayes, Heretick, Hope, Hurst, Jenkins, Keam, Kory, Levine, McQuinn, Mundon King, Murphy, Price, Rasoul, Reid, Scott, Simon and Simonds
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WHEREAS, Ernest George Minns, a civil rights activist, civic leader, and beloved member of the Virginia Beach community, died on July 26, 2019; and

WHEREAS, born and raised in the Seatack community of Virginia Beach, George Minns’s commitment to justice was fostered at a young age by his family of civil rights activists, including a grandfather who was a founding member of the former Princess Anne County branch of the NAACP, later known as the Virginia Beach branch of the NAACP; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of Floyd E. Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, George Minns would go on to become an influential advocate for human rights and racial justice in Virginia Beach and a devoted leader of the city’s Seatack community; and

WHEREAS, from 1987 to 1997, George Minns was president of the Virginia Beach branch of the NAACP; his advocacy over the years led to many achievements and was instrumental to the establishment of the Virginia Beach Minority Business Council, the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission, and citizen advisory committees in each Virginia Beach police precinct; and

WHEREAS, in his later years, George Minns was president of the Seatack Community Civic League, providing valued insights and leadership to ensure that residents would have equal opportunity to prosper and thrive; and

WHEREAS, George Minns fought indefatigably to preserve the residential character and history of Seatack, one of the oldest African American communities in the country, consistently mounting resistance to commercialization of the area over the years; and

WHEREAS, George Minns was a tireless advocate for the African American community before the Virginia Beach City Council, pressing the local government to improve sewers in predominantly African American neighborhoods, to consider minority businesses in the city’s contract procurement process, and to form a human rights commission following the 1989 Greekfest riots, among other endeavors; and

WHEREAS, George Minns’s efforts before the Virginia Beach City Council led to the appointment of the first African American judge in the city and the employment of the first African American lawyer in the Office of the City Attorney; and

WHEREAS, guided throughout his life by his deep and abiding faith, George Minns was an active member of the Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach, where he enjoyed worship and fellowship with his community for many years; and

WHEREAS, George Minns will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his children, Mary and George II, and their families; his former wife, Kim; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby note with great sadness the loss of Ernest George Minns, an accomplished civil rights activist and civic leader of the Seatack community in Virginia Beach, whose unwavering dedication to the pursuit of justice and equality touched countless lives; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Ernest George Minns as an expression of the House of Delegates’ respect for his memory.