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African Cemetery

Governor To Sign Billl Protecting Descendant Communities, Black Burial Grounds

May 12, 2026 Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, Popular Resistance. , , ,
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.

Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition Prevails Over Housing Commission

February 18, 2025 Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, Popular Resistance. , , ,
On February 11, the Montgomery County Circuit Court (the “Circuit Court”) sided favorably with the motion for equitable relief from the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) against the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC.) The BACC filed a lawsuit to stop HOC from selling Moses African Cemetery to a private developer, Bethesda based Charger Ventures. The decision was appealed to the MD Supreme Court. In a split decision, the Maryland Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Circuit Court and provided BACC and plaintiffs with the opportunity to amend their complaint and demand equitable relief, including financial damages for HOC’s desecration of Moses Cemetery.

Apology Demanded: County Executive Bars Civil Rights Hero From Meeting

November 7, 2024 the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
On Thursday October 31, 2024, Paul Pumphrey, a highly respected community elder and organizer was refused permission to attend a meeting on racial justice and later escorted out of the Executive floor by orders of Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “Mr. Pumphrey is a giant among civil rights leaders in Montgomery County,” said Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, President of BACC. “This is unacceptable and the community demands an independent investigation and a public apology. Ironically, this behavior by Mr Elrich represents a continuation of Jim Crow policies.

Maryland Supreme Court Decision Favors The Bethesda African Cemetery

September 27, 2024 Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Ari Gutman, Black Agenda Report. , , , ,
On Friday, August 30, the Supreme Court of Maryland issued its decision in the case of Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition v. Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County. The case, which began in the Circuit Court of Maryland in 2021, deals with the issue of whether or not the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), a government agency responsible for building, developing, financing, owning, and managing low and moderate-income housing, could legally sell an African Cemetery and the remains of African people without permission from descendants or the court. For decades, Montgomery County, the HOC and the State of Maryland have covered-up the desecration of Moses African Cemetery and the state-sponsored violent destruction of an African “Maroon” community in collusion with white supremacist groups, such as the ‘white caps’ and the KKK.

BACC Declares Victory At The Supreme Court Of Maryland

September 4, 2024 Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
On Friday August 30, the Supreme Court of Maryland issued its decision in the case of Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition v.  Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County. In its finding, the court acknowledges what BACC has been asserting for years: Moses African Cemetery “was a historic Black burial place that contains interments of many individuals, including formerly enslaved persons and their families” and “it appears likely that human remains are still interred in the land today, which is currently part of a property known as the Westwood Tower Apartments.” In light of the Maryland Supreme Court decision, we call on all elected officials to demand an immediate cessation of all desecration and erasure of Black History at the Westwood Towers site. 

Hundreds of Bodies Buried Under a Parking Lot

May 13, 2022 Steven Lieberman, The Sentinel. , , ,
In the wealthy Washington, DC suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, just off River Road, there is an asphalt parking lot that covers the graves of hundreds African Americans. That parking lot is the subject of a lawsuit in which descendants of individuals buried in the Moses Cemetery, the Pastor of the Macedonia Baptist Church, and the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition have asked a court to prevent the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (“HOC”), the quasi-governmental agency that owns the parking lot, from selling the parking lot and the adjacent land and building to a developer for $51 million. Under the terms of the sales agreement, the developer would have been free to continue to use the burial ground as a parking lot, to build another structure on top of the burial ground, or even to convert the burial ground into a dog park.

Judge Blocks Sale Of Historic African Cemetery

September 12, 2021 Dr. Marsha Coleman-adebayo, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
A Montgomery County Circuit Court ruled Wednesday, September 1st, 2021, that Montgomery County may not sell the land that includes the historic Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda, Maryland. Judge Karla Smith issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) forbidding the sale of the cemetery, currently owned by the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC.) This ruling is seen as historic because of the rarity of communities prevailing in court over multi-million-dollar corporations and government agencies. The sale of the cemetery took place without a hearing or public notice, essentially under the cover of darkness. The next step is a hearing on a preliminary injunction which will be held Sept. 27th, 2021.

County Must Stop Development Of Moses African Cemetery

November 12, 2020 Catarina Ieronimo, The Diamondback. , , ,
As someone who grew up in Montgomery County, I’ve heard and seen countless declarations from acquaintances, teachers and government officials that the county is incredibly progressive when it comes to racial justice. In my experience, many of those who sustain this claim will back it up with references to the diversity of county residents or to progressive legislation such as the CROWN Act, which prohibits discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles.  In addition, praise for Montgomery County’s progressivism has almost always included some kind of juxtaposition to more “backwards” parts of Maryland or Southern states.
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