Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition to deliver petition to Montgomery County today

Excavation underway at 5204 River Road in 2020

The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition will deliver a petition signed by almost 1000 people to the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services in Wheaton this afternoon. It is a petition asking DPS to suspend the Certificate of Occupancy for the new self-storage building at 5204 River Road, behind the McDonald's restaurant in Bethesda. The occupancy permit was issued to project developer 1784 Holdings of Arizona.

Cemetery advocates have been engaged in an ongoing legal dispute with the developer and Montgomery County government over alleged destruction of possible human remains and funerary objects during excavation of the site, which is directly adjacent to the Moses African Cemetery. The developer's archaeological expert certified that no such remains or objects were discovered during the dig. BACC disputes this. During the approval process for the building, concerns were raised that African-American cemeteries like Moses often lacked clear boundaries delineated by fencing, leading to potential burials outside the property lines. This led the developer to engage the services of the archaeological expert to oversee the excavation, which was also monitored from outside the property by representatives of BACC.

"Our ancestors are still being treated as chattel, non-human - transactional 'things' that can be destroyed and used at the economic or social pleasure of those in power," BACC President Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo said in a statement this morning. "It is only through blatant corruption and disregard for the rule of law that Montgomery County can provide the certificate of occupation with the permit violation allegations before the court. Developers who follow the rules should also be outraged if the Permitting Office provides the Arizona company with a certificate of occupancy."

BACC representatives will be joined this afternoon by representatives of the Maryland Green Party, Black United Front, Montgomery County Democratic Socialists of America, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the African Communities League. "Voters across the state are angry that their politicians don’t care about them. The inspiring thing is people are joining together, rising up, and fighting back," Maryland Green Party gubernatorial nominee Andy Ellis said. "BACC has long been at the forefront of that, and I am excited to join them on Wednesday and push for justice and accountability."