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Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition urges the county to protect Moses Cemetery and return stolen land
Summary
At the same Bethesda hearing, the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition urged the council to stop what it described as the desecration of Moses Cemetery, called for land restitution and a museum, and said it has won court victories challenging development on cemetery land.
Rabita Moses, representing the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC), used her allotted time during the Bethesda Downtown Minor Master Plan Amendment public hearing to press the Montgomery County Council to protect Moses Cemetery and to demand that land associated with historical injustices be returned.
“We speak on behalf of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, the coalition fighting to protect Moses Cemetery from desecration and erasure,” Moses said. She described the cemetery as “sacred ground” and drew a moral parallel between historical violence against Black families in Montgomery County and what she characterized as present‑day erasure through development. Moses said BACC has won rulings in the Supreme Court of Maryland and the Circuit Court for Montgomery County and called on the county and County Executive Marc Elrich to act to stop the perceived ongoing injustice.
Moses also urged restitution for land she said was stolen from a family member, identified in testimony as Harvey Matthew, and requested that Moses Cemetery be protected, preserved and complemented by a museum to ensure the history is not erased. She accused current development forces of perpetuating racial harm and said silence from elected officials enables it to continue.
The public hearing record shows Moses’s comments were offered during the general public‑comment period for the Bethesda amendment; the council did not take an immediate policy action on cemetery protections at the hearing. Moses’s claim that courts have issued favorable rulings for BACC was made in testimony and should be verified against court records for reporting beyond the transcript.
