Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition

Press Release 2/12/2025

Contact: 240-731-9577 

Developers Desecrating Moses Cemetery sue The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition

The Community Must Fight Back!

Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) dispute with developers Bethesda Self Storage Partners, LLC. and 1784 Capital Holdings, LLC over a parcel of land located on River Road, Bethesda, Maryland that was used as a burial ground and/or undesignated burial site for kidnapped Africans.

On Thursday, January 23, 2025, Bethesda Self Storage Partners, LLC. and 1784 Capital Holdings, LLC, a self-storage developer and development company, filed a baseless counterclaim against the BACC for tortious interference, defamation, trespass, and nuisance. This counterclaim is clearly designed to intimate and silence BACC from exercising its rights in this matter of tremendous public interest. BACC, however, will not succumb to this intimidation tactic.

Plaintiff BACC is a non-profit organization created by members of the Macedonia Baptist Church, located at 5119 River Road, Bethesda, Maryland, some of whom are descendants of freed kidnapped Africans who were imprisoned on various plantations in the River Road area. BACC was established to stop the desecration of burial grounds on and around Parcel 242, also known as “Old Moses African Cemetery” and to preserve the rich (but not widely known) history of Black people in the River Road area.

Before the Civil War, Parcel 242 and adjacent land thereto, were used as a burial ground for kidnapped Africans. After the Civil War, African Americans built a thriving community of homes, schools, and a church. However, a powerful network of institutions, including the Ku Klux Klan and the founder and developer of Chevy Chase, Senator Francis Newlands, supported and contributed to the displacement and segregation of this African American community in Chevy Chase.

In 2017, Bethesda Self Storage Partners and 1784 Capital Holdings commenced its construction of a self-storage facility. Since then, BACC has observed various excavation and construction activities, including the removal and desecration of objects that are alleged to be human remains and funerary objects. Now, Bethesda Self Storage Partners and 1784 Capital Holdings commenced a counterclaim against BACC for attempting to stop the desecration.

BACC asks the community to continue to fight for the dignity and humanity of its ancestors. BACC President Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo stated: “We will now fight harder than ever before. We call upon every organization, community and individual committed to social justice throughout the national and international community to join us in this fight. We view this counterclaim by 1784 Holdings as an important opportunity to organize the community and around the country to fight for land equity and dignity. We will not surrender the dignity of our
ancestors or future generations to profit centers who have shown total contempt and disregard for our history and our ancestors.”