Poor People's Campaign leaders call for Bethesda cemetery to be turned over to Macedonia Baptist Church

The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II 

The leaders of the Poor People's Campaign, a national organization that declares its dedication to finishing the work begun by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are calling for Montgomery County to relinquish control of the Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda to the nearby Macedonia Baptist Church. Co-chairs the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, will speak via Zoom to a rally this Friday, September 10, 2021 at 11:00 AM at the church, which is located at 5119 River Road in Bethesda. The rally will be live streamed on the Maryland Poor People's Campaign Facebook page, for those who can't attend.

Dr. Liz Theoharis

Several past members of the church are buried in the cemetery. Some of their descendants are expected to be in attendance at the rally on Friday. Also backing the demand are the leaders of the Maryland Poor People’s Campaign chapter. "We stand solidly behind the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition's struggle to end the continued desecration of Moses Macedonia African Cemetery,” Rabbi Alana Suskin and the Rev. Angela Martin, co-chairs of the Maryland State Poor People's Campaign, said in a statement.

The cemetery, which was desecrated in the late 1960s during construction of the Westwood Tower apartments, was split into two parcels in recent deals related to the redevelopment of 22 acres in the Westbard area of Bethesda. One larger parcel remains in the hands of the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission, which recently attempted to sell Westwood Tower and the cemetery to a private capital investment firm, prompting a lawsuit after the church and descendants were not alerted to the sale as required by law. A smaller parcel was already acquired by the County, which has fought tooth and nail to prevent any archaeological study of the cemetery by renowned experts in the field of African-American cemeteries.

“One of my most sacred duties is committing the souls of the deceased, and ensuring the sanctity of their burial ground,” the Rev. Dr. Segun Adebayo, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, said Monday. “Because of the County, we can’t do that now at our Moses African Cemetery.”