Bethesda Cemetery Group Sues Housing Commission Over Sale Of Land

BETHESDA, MD — A group of Montgomery County residents who have spent the last several years fighting to preserve an African cemetery in Bethesda have filed a lawsuit against the Housing Opportunities Commission, saying it bypassed a necessary court approval to sell land that contains a cemetery.

“HOC’s actions are outrageous,” said Steven Lieberman, a lawyer on the suit, in a news release. “There is a Maryland statute that specifically requires any person or entity selling property that is or was used as a cemetery to approach the court for permission to make such a sale.”

The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition is referring to Parcel 175, a plot of land known as Moses Cemetery that contains remains of former members of the Macedonia Baptist Church, many of whom were people who were enslaved, and their descendants. It was developed into an apartment complex in the late 1960s, according to several studies and historical reports, and a parking lot now at least partially covers the area where people were buried.

The Housing Opportunities Commission announced its intention to sell the Westwood Tower Apartments and accompanying property to Charger Ventures last month, prompting a series of protests from the coalition outside of the developer’s “headquarters,” which are listed as a residential home in Bethesda.

The coalition and the county have disagreed in the past over what land near the apartment complex may be part of the cemetery. The coalition says it is nearly impossible to know where the burials start and end, as they are unmarked, but both the coalition and the county agree Parcel 175 should be considered a burial ground.

“Before property that is or was used as a burial ground is sold, Maryland law requires the
seller to bring an action in the county in which the burial ground is located so the court may decide whether, and under what terms and conditions, such a sale may take place,” the lawsuit reads.

“HOC and other public officials, including Marc Elrich (Montgomery County Executive), have publicly acknowledged that the property at issue was a traditional burial ground for enslaved Black people and their ancestors, yet HOC has chosen to move forward with the sale of the property without complying with this clear statutory requirement.”

Patch has reached out to the HOC for comment and will update this story if they respond.

“Here, HOC, despite being fully aware that the property was used for more than a century as a cemetery, ignored the Maryland statute and is planning to move forward with the sale in violation of the law,” said Lieberman in the news release. “That misbehavior by officials of the HOC cannot stand unchallenged.”

Coalition President Marsha Coleman-Adebayo has been leading the charge on the Bethesda African Cemetery for years, calling on county officials to preserve the land, though no one has filed for historic designation on behalf of the cemetery. Adebayo told Patch in an interview that ideally, the land would become a museum dedicated to the history of the people buried there.