A bill designed to increase protections for African-American cemeteries in Maryland is a good start, but needs amendments, advocates say. HB-1099, introduced by Montgomery County delegate Al Carr, will receive a public hearing next Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 1:30 PM. Residents can provide their opinions on the bill during the virtual hearing by signing up online today, Monday, February 22, 2021 between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Rules for testifying can also be found online.
As currently drafted, the bill would create a fund to finance the preservation of African-American cemeteries in the state. It would also fund a study of the obstacles and threats to such preservation.
The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition is suggesting four amendments to strengthen and expand the bill: the rights of African-American descendants to the remains of their ancestors and how their resting places will be memorialized and celebrated should be recognized; the bill should address the fact that many black cemeteries are no longer in the hands of the original black landowners, and now often in the hands of developers; create civil and criminal penalties for the desecration of black cemeteries; and elevate the status of descendant communities in the bill to be equal to that of developers, "white preservationist NGOs, [and] big-business cultural resources groups."
BACC notes that some of the organizations currently recognized in the bill have facilitated the desecration of Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda. They should not, therefore, have the same status as the descendants of those buried in the cemetery, BACC argues.
BACC has fabricated the location of Moses Cemetery in order to extort free land. It didnt work because the data was not on their side. They hired a historian then refused to pay him when his findings didnt align with their goals.
ReplyDeleteThe location of the cemetery is recorded on historic maps. The desecration of graves in the late 1960s during construction of Westwood Tower only further proves the cemetery was on that site.
DeleteDon't know where you're getting you're info. They didn't hire a historian, the historian in question offered his services for free and when tings didn't work out and tried to sue, there was no case because as he stated in emails and text, he offered his services for free. In addition, to Robert's point. The cemetery is recorded on county maps and reports done by both the Ottery group and the historian show that the area was a mass burial site for African-American.
DeleteIf you're going to troll, at least be smooth about it.
The shopping center and Apt building did impact the cemetery ON the mapped parcels for the cemetery P175 and P177. But, the cemetery was NEVER EVER mapped on the current project for the Storage facility the BACC is protesting with fabricated data.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that the footprint of the self storage building is not within the recorded boundaries of the cemetery.
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