The second-highest court in Maryland has reversed a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge's decision to block the sale of Westwood Tower in Bethesda by the County Housing Opportunities Commission to Charger Ventures. Judge Karla Smith had ruled in October 2021 that the sale could not proceed because the HOC had failed to notify descendants of those buried in the Moses African Cemetery, which is hidden underneath the rear parking lot of the apartment tower. The cemetery was desecrated by construction workers building the high rise in the late 1960s.
"The ruling is disgraceful," Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition President Marsha Coleman-Adebyao said in a statement this morning. "It shows no sensitivity to, or understanding of, the nature of African-American burial grounds. It treats the rights of the owner of a parking lot that was built over hundreds of African-American graves as superior to the dignity of the people interred in the burial ground. BACC attorney Steve Lieberman said he was concerned that "if this ruling is permitted to stand, it is open season on traditional African-American burial grounds in Maryland, None of the graves in such burial grounds will be safe."
10 comments:
They had every chance to purchase the property years ago.
I don't get it. The Macedonia Baptist Church sold the land to be developed and paved over decades ago, right? And now they're complaining that the land is...being resold and redeveloped? What, because this time they can't profit from it?
Am I missing something? This topic gets so much coverage on this site, but I don't understand why. If the land wasn't stolen from the church then I don't understand what they could possibly be complaining about. Appropriate move and reinter any remains that are found during excavation, as is required by Maryland law. The end.
Knock me over with a feather. Who ever could have guessed builder's interests would prevail in a MoCo property dispute?
7:33 - There's a lot of focus on this kind of thing these days. We're seeing it now in PG at Sacred Heart parish in Bowie where graves of blacks had been discovered that likely were slaves. So, this is obviously sensitive territory. But your comment was well stated.
Don’t expect any better luck in the federal appeals courts or the Suoremes with Trump’s appointees.
8:24, maybe you could lead a private group to get donations to 'compensate' them, that's what they're looking for. This is a great opportunity to capitalize on our liberal proclivities.
Yes 156 because most conservative judges base their reasoning on the law not on what result they prefer.
1:56, like all progressives, can't seem to wrap their heads around the separation of powers in a consistent push to have courts make policy which is the purview of congress. Another example of how education is wasted on the woke.
Some of the comments here I believe are due to some of the misinformation on the issue that has been going on for some time. Let's address the first:
7:32AM"They had every opportunity to purchase the property years ago" How could the descendant community purchase the property when the agency in question not only would not engage in good faith on any type of remedy but also is outright hostile. Not only that but the agency in question won't even inform the general public of any potential sale of property, let alone a descendant community trying to have their cemetery returned or the purchase price. Contrast that in 2012 when the County became aware of a Jewish cemetery being desecrated, not only did the County find 300,000 dollars to restore but then transferred control of it to a local synagogue and rightfully so. Yet when it comes to a historic AA burial ground, the county wants to act like they don't know what to do.
7:33AM. The Macedonia Baptist Church, like other members of the community at the time the first wave of desecration had their lands stolen from them due to displacement caused by Klan violence and eminent domain, which is very common across the country in which black communities were pushed out for the sake of development. Historians from the local historical societies, colleges and the County's own have all acknowledged how that land was stolen and all the descendant community is asking for is to return the cemetery so they can set up a proper memorial and museum. Plus when the cemetery was first desecrated in the 1960's, bodies were dug up and nobody was notified. Fast forward to the lawsuit, HOC didn't notify the descendant community that the property was being sold. They had to find out via the news. As to why this site covers the topic is because mainstream news doesn't focus on desecration of black cemeteries but local bloggers have. Even the decision the Court of Appeals rendered that they acknowledged that the land was stolen, not sold. What more do people need to see that point?
3:34AM. All the descendant community is asking for is to have the land returned to establish a memorial and museum to educate the community in the area about the history of River Road and what it was like when that was a thriving black community. what's wrong with that?
936's reply to 334, (not my comment but now my observation), is unfortunately shallow and ends with a flippant comment "what's wrong with that".
Take into account, (regardless of how anyone feels about a formal land sale from the government to a private owner), who is going to reimburse said land owner or are you proposing to take the land outright as a matter or reparations? If compensation is to be paid, 936 seems pretty casual about spending taxpayer dollars to "right a wrong" in their eyes.
It's all fun & games until you run out of other people's money - Margaret Thatcher
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