PACK THE COURT
with BACC SEPT 24th at 9:30AM at Montgomery County Circuit Court!
Montgomery County is allowing an Arizona based developer, 1784 Holdings LLC, to build a self-storage unit on top of what the community believes is a burial site in Bethesda, MD. This burial site is believed to hold the remains of kidnapped African children and young adults. 1784 has filed a motion to stop the trial and to limit the evidence. Since the beginning of the construction, they have violated County regulation, withheld key evidence and subsequently destroyed potential material evidence of human remains.
WE CAN NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU! PLEASE JOIN BACC on the 24th in Rockville!
Sign the petition to demand a PAUSE.
Give our ancestors their day in court!
Community members are already protesting, organizing, and showing up. Watch the video to see our fight against Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the continued lack of action from county leaders to save Moses Cemetery.
The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) is a multi-ethnic, multi-generational, and interdisciplinary social justice organization based in Bethesda, MD, that grew out of the social justice ministry of Macedonia Baptist Church.
MISSION: The Coalition seeks to stop the desecration of Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda, Maryland and honor the ancestors whose resting place has been disturbed and whose history has been erased. BACC seeks to preserve the rich history of the resistance movement organized by the African maroon community on River Road, Graysville, and its survival strategies that provide important road maps for future generations. BACC does this by rigorously engaging in public education, legal strategies, community organizing and advocacy. Our long term goal is to create a living memorial, museum and community organizing center, a space in which historical struggles will inform the strategies of future generations on how to fight domination.
WHY WE FIGHT
JUNETEENTH 2026
Thank you for joining us at this year's Juneteenth at Glen Echo! Your participation made this year's Juneteenth so moving and memorable! This Juneteenth we honored and celebrated the two major civil war veterans desecrated in Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda, Maryland: Private William H. H. Brown from the 30th U.S. Colored Infantry, Company H which fought bravely at the Battle of the Crater and in campaigns throughout North Carolina; and Private Charles Henry Brown, enlisted in the 37th Colored Infantry Regiment that fought in major engagements including the Siege of Petersburg, which lasted until March 25, 1865, the capture of Fort Fisher, and the campaign of the Carolinas.
MORE WAYS TO TAKE ACTION
BECOME A MONTHLY SUSTAINER
BACC is facing growing legal fees up to $30,000. Donate now to keep the struggle alive.
BECOME A BACC INTERN
BACC’s Youth Leadership Cohort is a year-long program for local high school students that are interested in working in justice, community and preserving Black history.
RECENT PRESS
People's World, August 14th, "Legal fight over desecrated Moses African Cemetery presses on" by Damion Dixon.
“The River Road ‘Maafa’ and The Little White Church on the Hill” by Jordan Armstead July 2, 2026 The Washington Informer.
“Maryland governor signs anti-desecration law, earning praise from Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition” July 9, 2026 By Damion Dixon People’s World.
HIGHLIGHTED PRESS
Opinion: Montgomery County shouldn’t pave over a Black community’s past
Washington Post. September 8, 2024
ABOUT MOSES CEMETERY
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![Chain-link fence with gravestone-shaped cardboard signs reading "Save Moses Cemetery"]()
Moses Cemetery is a 200+ year old burial ground which was in use during two distinct periods of African history: pre and post-emancipation. It is located in Bethesda, Maryland, right outside of Washington D.C. Today, the burial ground is divided up into multiple sections.
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![Picture of flooded parking lot on top of Moses Cemetery.]()
One section, which was in use up until the 20th century, is currently buried underneath a parking lot.
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![Section of Moses Cemetery where construction is taking place]()
Another section which houses the remains of hundreds, possibly thousands of Africans who were trafficked from Africa to work and die on River Road, is actively being erased.
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![Building currently sitting on top of Moses Cemetery]()
A third section of Moses African Cemetery, where remains were unearthed during construction and trafficked to a WSSI Warehouse in Virginia. BACC is in litigation to stop the desecration.
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![Three women view a museum-style glass encasing showing artifacts unearthed from the cemetery.]()
Dozens of bones, some with human DNA, funerary objects, archaeologically relevant soils, and other historically and spiritually sacred artifacts have been removed from the site. Many of these objects have been destroyed. Luckily, some were recovered by BACC in 2020.
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![Google map of River Road from 1865]()
By Paul Rispin of farms and estates around 1865 at River Road with 2022 Google Maps. Composite by Gail Rebhan.
Starting in the 1700s, Europeans began trafficking Africans to several plantations along River Road. The four largest plantations were; the Counselman, Shoemaker, Loughborough, and Posey estates. The land around Moses was hilly and unproductive, so it was used as a burial ground for the Africans who died on River Road.
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![Man and woman outside a cabin in 1895.]()
Cabin on Solyom Estate occupied by Botts family members, July 1895. Photo courtesy of Ralph Wooden.
After emancipation, a community of Black people flourished for almost a century – they built homes, a school, ballfields, a church and a cemetery. In the 1860s, white slave owners began selling their land to freed Africans.
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![Macedonia Baptist Church]()
Photo courtesy of The Guardian.
By 1910, at least thirty Black families were living along River Road. These families worked in emerging industries or made a living through agricultural production. In 1937, Macedonia Baptist Church established a location on River Road and in April 1945, the church moved across the street to where it remains to this day.
