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Community groups ask council for $150,000 to expand African American historical markers
Summary
Speakers representing historical organizations and foundations urged the council to allocate $150,000 in the FY27-32 CIP to research, design and install up to 40 African American historical markers across Montgomery County to preserve underrecognized community histories.
Anita Neal Powell, president of the Lincoln Park Historical Foundation, asked the council to allocate $150,000 in the FY27-32 CIP to research and install as many as 40 African American historical markers across the county. She traced the projects roots to 2016 and named earlier leaders and collaborators who worked to identify historically black neighborhoods and oral histories.
Crystal Holland Davis, executive director of the Potomac Community Foundation and a descendant of Emery Grove, urged full funding for the markers project, describing markers as "public truth tellers" that make history visible and protect communities from erasure.
Warren Fleming reviewed the projects earlier progress and said the work stalled after disagreements over language and presentation; he asked the council to approve funding to finish the project before committee members can no longer contribute.
Speakers requested the council restore or confirm funding in the CIP to complete design, placement and updated text for markers that community historians deem necessary to tell fuller stories of Black communities countywide.
