Above photo: Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, co-founder of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition. Gail Rebhan.
Moses African Cemetery is inspiration for the new law!
Annapolis, MD — Advocates with the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) and Maryland Cemetery Legislative Advocates joined Governor Wes Moore May on 12th as he signed SB233 into law at the Maryland State House.
SB233 establishes new legal protections for descendant communities seeking to preserve and protect cemeteries from desecration or improper transfer. Advocates fought for legislation that mirrors the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws to ensure descendant communities have meaningful legal recourse when burial grounds are threatened.
The new law clarifies Maryland law by establishing the right for descendant communities and other interested parties to bring cases before the courts regarding the sale or transfer of cemeteries. It also requires courts to render decisions within six months after a case is filed.
Under the law, before a cemetery can be sold or transferred, Maryland’s Office of Cemetery Oversight must establish a public review process requiring cemetery owners to seek approval for proposed sales or transfers, notify descendants and community stakeholders, hold public hearings, and develop preservation or reinterment plans for human remains and cemetery land.
If descendant communities believe a decision fails to safeguard their ancestors or protect cemetery grounds, the law provides the right to challenge those decisions in court. Courts may order a range of remedies, including transferring ownership of a cemetery to a descendant community.
The law also creates procedures for abandoned cemeteries where ownership cannot be identified or where cemetery operators have ceased operations. In those situations, counties or other government entities may acquire cemeteries for the purpose of transferring them to descendant communities or ensuring respectful reinterment of remains.
Currently BACC has collected over 600 signatures urging the county to pause the Certificate of Occupancy for a storage unit development on River Road that has been constructed on a portion of Moses African Cemetery. The law, said BACC President Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo is finally recognizing that Black people are human and therefore deserving of basic human dignity and rights.”
“SB 233 represents an important advance in the fight against cemetery desecration and in protecting the civil rights and dignity of the deceased,” Josh Silver, Legislative Director for Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition. “For too long, descendant communities lacked meaningful legal tools to protect their ancestors’ resting places.”
Advocates noted that the legislation includes exemptions for cemeteries owned by religious institutions, which they believe weakens the law’s protections. Coalition members stated they will pursue amendments in future legislative sessions to narrow or repeal those exemptions.
Passage of SB233 came after months of organizing and advocacy by the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition and other advocacy groups. This is a major victory for the human rights and Black community
For decades, descendant communities have been forced to wage costly and lengthy legal battles to protect the resting places of their ancestors. In the case of the BACC, land containing a historic African cemetery, Moses, ultimately came under the control of multiple developers before the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) acquired this land. BACC sued HOC for proposing to sell the land containing the cemetery to a developer. BACC became convinced that updating Maryland law was needed because current ambiguities in the law regarding standing and the court’s role resulted in the case languishing for six years without resolution.
The fight of BACC underscores the urgent need for SB233 and clear legal protections guaranteeing descendant communities the right to preserve sacred burial grounds and protect African American history for future generations.
