By Deborah Bailey
AFRO Contributing Editor
For years, current and former residents of the Westbard community along River Road in Bethesda, Md., have insisted that remains of their Black ancestors have been defiled before their eyes.
They say Black corpses have been paved over, dug up and removed from the common law burial site known as the Moses African Cemetery for years. While residents were hoping for help to arrive sooner, they have done what others in Louisiana, Georgia and Florida had to do–go to court to protect the basic rights of their deceased loved ones.
On Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, descendants and supporters of Moses Cemetery will return to Montgomery Circuit Court, seeking accountability from county authorities regarding the treatment and handling of the remains interred in an underground cemetery that has been buried and forgotten in one of “America’s most ethnically diverse counties.”
What is the Moses African Cemetery? Who is buried there?
The Moses African Cemetery is buried beneath a parking lot close to a busy thoroughfare in Bethesda, one of the most highly educated communities in America.
The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) states that hundreds of formerly enslaved individuals and free Black residents from as far back as the 1800s are buried beneath Westwood Tower Apartments, its parking lot, and nearby sections of Moses Cemetery, while other graves lie unmarked on a grassy knoll off River Road.
Westwood Towers and the adjoining parking lot are public property, under the authority of the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) of Montgomery County. The HOC wants Westwood and the parking lot sold to make way for new housing.
Segun Adebayo, pastor of the Macedonia Baptist Church in Bethesda, said his ancestors are buried in the Moses Cemetery.
“No one thought about the community’s right to have a voice about what happens to the land where our Black bodies are buried. These are the remains of relatives and friends to the scores of Black people who lived, worked and worshiped in this community,” said Marsha Coleman – Adebayo, president of BACC and Macedonia’s first lady.
How did Montgomery County acquire the burial ground?
Westwood Towers and the adjoining parking lot right off River Road were built over the Moses African Cemetery graves in the 1960s when Black residents living in the area were being displaced, according to pastor Segun Adebayo, an eyewitness to the disbursement of a once cohesive Black community in Bethesda.
“This was all a Black village right here, dating back to the 1800s,” Adebayo said, pointing to the area now lined with gas stations, a high-rise apartment building and a shopping plaza with a natural foods grocery and other high-end shops. “Free Black people lived here, worked and worshiped.
“Macedonia was a community of worship that survived from the 1800s and is still active today,” he added. “What is left now is the church and the Moses cemetery where we buried our ancestors.”
The HOC of Montgomery County began leasing Westwood in the late 1990s and finally gained control of the property and parking lot in 2018.
What is happening to stop the sale and further desecration of Moses African Cemetery graves?
BACC was formed in 2016 to work with local, state and federal officials to keep the property from being sold and protect the rights of the deceased buried in Moses African Cemetery. But BACC leadership said discussions were going nowhere.
“We were getting no cooperation from local officials, and even our federal representatives were not helping with our specific concerns. The sacred space where our ancestors were buried was being sold out from under us, and no one helped to raise the alarm,” said Coleman-Adebayo. “We (the community) have had to do this ourselves.”
Rep. Jaime Raskins (D-Md.-08), who represents Bethesda, said his office connected with BACC representatives and their plight was inspiration for The African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, co-sponsored by Raskins and passed in 2022.
Natalie Adams, Rep. Raskins’ communications director, said of the lawmaker, “He has met with the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition both on Capitol Hill and River Road and with their lawyer to discuss ongoing state law litigation.”
Adams added that they are prepared to help report any potential federal violations BACC identifies.
Locally, Councilmember Andrew Friedman, representing the Bethesda area where Moses African Cemetery is situated, has not responded to the BACC or the AFRO. But Council Vice Chair Will Jawando said he is familiar with the Moses African Cemetery and the concerns of the BACC.
“I deeply respect the advocacy of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition and the significance of the issues they’ve raised. Protecting burial grounds and places of historical and ancestral importance is something I take seriously,” Jawando said. “While I can’t comment on the specifics of this case given the ongoing legal proceedings, I believe that the outcome must honor the dignity, respect and justice deserved by the community and their ancestors.”
Despite meetings, protests and rallies to prevent the sale of Westwood, HOC found a buyer in summer of 2021. Local developer, Charter Ventures LLC, a Bethesda investment management firm, offered $50 million for the Westwood Tower. Negotiations started, however, Charter Ventures has since backed out of the deal due to negative publicity.
Legal action and current standing
Adebayo and members of the Macedonia Baptist Church have been involved in this fight for a decade. In 2018, when the HOC acquired Westwood and its parking lot, plans were made to sell the land to developers.
Legal steps were taken after Montgomery County announced the sale. A case was filed in Circuit Court in 2021. A judge temporarily stopped the sale, but the HOC appealed. Maryland’s Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Circuit Court in August 2024, allowing BACC to amend its complaint under Maryland’s Common Law.
In a 3-2 split decision, the court stated that the Coalition “may seek appropriate relief under the common law of burial places where no sale of a burial ground for another purpose is contemplated.”
The Coalition has revised its petition to seek “equitable relief” under the Common Law of Maryland, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Stay tuned for more on this essential case in next week’s AFRO.
Great Job Dr. Deborah Bailey AFRO Contributing Editor & the Team @ AFRO American Newspapers Source link for sharing this story.
