The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition is continuing its weekly protests against the potential sale of Westwood Tower and Moses African Cemetery to a private capital firm. Montgomery County's Housing Opportunities Commission had reached an agreement on a sale with Bethesda-based Charger Ventures, but has now run into legal difficulty after the commission allegedly did not contact the descendants of those buried in the cemetery first.
Today's (September 13, 2021) protest will be held outside a private home affiliated with Charger Ventures at 5303 Duvall Drive in Bethesda at 5:00 PM. On Wednesday, September 15, another rally will be held at 5204 River Road (by the McDonald's) at 5:00 PM.
Last week, the movement added momentum when the cause of restoring and memorializing the cemetery was endorsed by the national leaders of the Poor People's Campaign, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, and the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. “Those in power, the wealthy and influential, who do not care about the people and do not respect the earth or God...are willing to engage in land grabs," Theoharis said. "They are willing to roll over or even pave over bodies in communities, the bodies and communities of those who have built up society but not been paid fair wages, unable to enjoy the fruits of their labor."
Many of those buried in the cemetery were born in Africa and enslaved in America. But, Macedonia Baptist Church's Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Segun Adebayo, noted that even "in death, they were not allowed to rest in peace." The cemetery was desecrated during the construction of Westwood Tower in the late 1960s, and a major portion of the graves that remained intact were paved over for a parking lot.
Several descendants of people buried in the cemetery participated in last week's rally, which Barber and Theoharis joined by Zoom call. One was Darold Cuba, who spoke out about the potential sale, and HOC's failure to notify him and other descendants of their plans.“ I was stunned to learn the burial ground of my ancestors was being sold as a real estate deal," Cuba said. "Is this really how Black people are being treated in 2021? Quite frankly, this is barbarism.”
6 comments:
Wasn't the original owner of this land a Black organization with connections to the church? Why aren't the protesters getting mad at them for selling the land in the first place?
The land has changed hands a bunch of times now -- I don't see why the latest owner is to blame when they had nothing to do with something that happened 50+ years ago.
Didn't the original cemetery owners give up their rights, and the burial rights of their loved ones, when they sold the property many years ago, and apparently did not move the graves? Wasn't it their responsibility to relocate the graves at their expense if they wanted to receive money when they sold the land? I don't believe anyone is claiming the was somehow stolen from them.
There is no question that any human remains discovered during new construction should be properly relocated to other cemeteries. Isn't that true for any type of construction if human remains are discovered?
Why do these folks insist that the property be gifted to them, when their ancestors already sold the property, but apparently didn't relocate the graves?
I fully understand that these folks are upset, but it seems that they are seeking remedies that don't make sense.
The original owners were a fraternal organization. I don't believe the law ever takes burial rights away from a deceased individual. There is a legal process for handling that, which was violated in this case.
We know that Dr. Tauber eventually acquired the land, and must have been aware it was a black cemetery, as the architect of Westwood Towers initially relocated a few of the remains to an African American cemetery near the Howard County line. Ultimately, the rest within the building footprint were relocated into a mass grave nearby, and the rest paved over. All of this was illegal.
Did the Tauber family inform the next owner it was sold to about the graves? The County mysteriously has not investigated that question.
Because they know that the cultural institutions in the US today hold an extreme bias in favor of "oppressed" groups and they hope that they can obtain this land free of charge via political emotional blackmail. The Macedonia church is sited on an expensive piece of real estate on River Road and could be sold to finance the purchase of the cemetery with enough left over to move the church to a new (less expensive) location.
9:43: The talk of oppression and the weaponization of identity politics are only for political gain by white politicians. If it was action and not words, the County government wouldn't have fought to prevent the archaeological investigation of the cemetery, and threatened members of a black church with arrest for peacefully protesting at government buildings.
Black Lives Matter in Montgomery County only until black people start challenging the MoCo political cartel. Then government officials like Casey Anderson and the County Council staff call the police on them. And pay no consequence for doing so.
I don't see why the church should have to sell to right a past wrong by other parties. Should crime victims have to sell their homes to obtain justice?
If they think they have a legal cause of action let them pursue it like everyone else by filing a lawsuit and litigating it. This non-stop protesting and victim mongering is pointless political theatre. The county cannot just give that property to them as it belongs to the taxpayers.
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