Rally in support of Moses Cemetery. Photo: Bethesda African Cemetery
Government agencies in the state of Maryland are allowing real estate developers to disturb a sacred place of rest for enslaved people and their descendants. Organizers have continued to oppose the desecration with a sustained legal battle.
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.
HOC has used Moses African Cemetery as a parking lot for its residents for over six decades. Over the past three years, the agency has dumped hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars to challenge the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) in court in order to continue to desecrate the burial ground.
The Court’s ruling complicates HOC’s hopes to sell Moses African Cemetery and gives BACC the ability to take more legal action against HOC under Maryland Common Law - a victory for the Coalition and Black descendant groups nationally.
In its decision, The Court wrote:
“…if a seller of a qualifying burial ground sells such a property for another purpose without obtaining a judgment under BR 5-505, interested parties remain able to bring not only any legal claims, but also their own equitable claims to circuit court.”
BACC now has the ability to amend its complaint to assert claims for such desecration and to seek injunctive and other equitable relief against continuing desecration of the Moses African Cemetery. Moving forward, any entity seeking to sell a burial ground without permission from descendants will be doing so knowing that their transaction may trigger a lawsuit, thus making the sale toxic. This decision puts desecrators, such as the Housing Opportunities Commission, on notice.
The Court also reaffirmed what the Coalition has been saying for years, and what no local or national elected official is interested in rectifying. On the desecration of Moses African Cemetery, the Court wrote:
“The record suggests that, rather than respectfully disinterring and moving the remains of the deceased, the developers disturbed the ground, removed human remains haphazardly and inconsistently, destroyed grave markers, and ultimately paved a portion of the land into a parking lot. It appears likely that human remains are still interred in the land today.”
It was the scholarship, activism, and bravery of BACC members that brought this desecration and the existence of Moses Cemetery to the attention of Montgomery County residents. Montgomery County officials had hoped to bury the existence of the cemetery and the African community that once thrived on River Road. Due to their racist arrogance, Montgomery County has now become synonymous with the desecration of Moses Cemetery, receiving national and international media attention as a result of their actions.
Despite immense community pushback and significant media attention, not a single Maryland official, local or federal, has denounced the Housing Opportunities Commission for their ongoing desecration of a historic African cemetery. The total silence and inaction of Maryland officials around this issue is just one of the many ways they choose to show their contempt and disregard for the well-being of their African constituents. Many County officials, such as County Executive Marc Elrich, have intentionally misled the community about the desecration and the history of Moses. BACC has done extensive community outreach and popular education in person and online in order to educate the community about what is taking place in their County.
The lack of action by officials has not, however, deterred BACC. Last week, the Coalition initiated a new lawsuit against 1784 Holdings and Bethesda Self Storage Partners. These developers, who have spent more than $100 million dollars to build a self-storage facility atop a burial ground, have been desecrating the largest portion of Moses for more than five years. The Coalition has, since 2020, documented their criminal activities which include the destruction and looting of burial objects, looting and trafficking of potential human remains, and the removal of potential human remains from a burial site. Despite these criminal acts taking place in broad daylight, Montgomery County has put its full support behind the developers.
Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) requests reveal a close relationship between developers and Montgomery County officials including the Montgomery County State Attorney. Emails obtained by the Coalition reveal that the State’s Attorney, John McCarthy, visited the site of the desecration a few weeks after hundreds of assumed human remains appeared. Despite this, he took no action to halt the desecration. Instead, he informed BACC’s attorney’s that “the project appears to be in compliance with planning board directives for the excavation.” This is the same Planning Board which is also in possession of and desecrating a section of Moses Cemetery.
BACC’s demands have not changed since the onset of the struggle. The Coalition is demanding an end to the desecration of Moses African Cemetery and the state-sponsored confiscation of Black land, criminal charges against all desecrating parties, and the return of Moses African Cemetery to the Black descendant community for proper stewardship.
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Ph.D is a contributor to Black Agenda Report and President of the Bethesda African Cemetery (BACC.) Ari Gutman is a Senior Community Organizer for the BACC and activist focused on international issues.
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