The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition recently contacted all members of the Montgomery County Council, asking each elected official to denounce the desecration of Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda, and the desecration of African-American cemeteries in general. None of them agreed to do so, and only one even replied to the inquiries. "Thank you for your email regarding Moses African Cemetery," Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe's chief of staff wrote in an email response to BACC. "This is a very complex issue which has a long history. It is not within the purview of the Council to advocate while there is both past and ongoing litigation."
"BACC rejects the logic of any and all councilmembers who remain silent," the organization said in a statement Wednesday. "First, we do not understand what the issue is regarding commenting on issues involving litigation. Through Amicus Briefs and other means, public and private entities weigh in all the time on lawsuits. Secondly, the Moses African Cemetery covers several parcels including ones not involved in litigation, allowing any Councilmember concerned about intervening in a court case to comment about the fate of portions of the cemetery not involved in litigation. In particular, the developer, 1784 Holdings, is erecting a light storage facility next to McDonalds on River Road despite the absence of a full archaeological and forensic survey investigating whether additional bones and funerary objects remain. 1784 Holdings had previously removed several possible funerary objects and is storing them in a warehouse in Gainesville, Virginia. A proper investigation of these objects has not been conducted, The Council could call of a third party, impartial investigation now."
"BACC believes the Council must reverse course and take a strong stand against desecration. No other local official at any level has spoken out. The council has an opportunity to lead if it can shake off its bureaucratic mindset."
2 comments:
Maybe there's hope for our local electorate, more like even a blind squirrel finds an occasional acorn, tho
It's insane these people keep getting blog posts here. They don't own the land; they don't deserve to own the land. If remains are ever found during excavation, there is protocol in place to properly handle said remains in accordance with state and federal law. There have been no remains found at the storage facility site. These people never claimed that site was included in their imaginary cemetery until recently. This is literally the dumbest possible NIMBY angle someone has ever fabricated. Yes, even dumber than the imaginary endangered shrimp NIMBYs fabricated to try and stop the Purple Line.
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