Members of the Bethesda church call it an “uphill battle,” but congregation at the Macedonia Baptist Church on River Road has gained support from groups around the Montgomery County in an effort to stop the redevelopment project they say will re-desecrate an old burial ground.
Harvey Matthews, A church member said that, “uphill battle all the way. A battle I can’t say is going to be won, but it’s going to be a battle all the way.”
The burial ground is already paved over, but the latest plans call for the parking garage to support the new development in the works. On Sunday, the church turned to the organizations affiliated with Black Lives Matter to argue that race is a big reason the project slated for River Road, just north of the Little Falls Parkway, might proceed.
On Thursday, the project will go before the Montgomery County Planning Commission. In a move which recognizes the burial ground might be there, the commission said that it will only review site plans for areas that are not part of the disputed land. But some church members are suspicious about it.
Matthews, who grew up by the church said that, “I think it’s kind of a [strategical] thing for them to set it up that way and kind of leave us out there like the Lone Ranger by himself.”
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He also said that he has relatives buried under the asphalt across the street from the church.
The church leaders would like to see the planning commission postpone the meeting until it is determined if the human remains are buried at the site. If that is the case, some members of the county council have already said that the project will need to be reconfigured.
Adabayo said that it should become the site of a museum which tells the story of black enclaves in Montgomery County, similar to the one that used to exist on the River Road. She was joined at a rally on Sunday by a few dozen supporters, including three mothers whose sons were killed during interactions with the police officers.
By Mrudula Duddempudi.
