BETHESDA, Md. 鈥� Members of a Bethesda church call it an 鈥渦phill battle,鈥� but the congregation at Macedonia Baptist Church on River Road has gained support from groups around Montgomery County in an effort to stop a redevelopment project they say will re-desecrate an old burial ground.
鈥淯phill battle all the way,鈥� said church member Harvey Matthews. 鈥淎 battle I can鈥檛 say is going to be won, but it鈥檚 going to be a battle all the way.鈥�
The burial ground is already paved over, but the latest plans call for a parking garage to support the new development in the works. On Sunday, the church turned to organizations affiliated with Black Lives Matter to argue that race is a big reason the project slated for River Road, just north of Little Falls Parkway, might proceed.
鈥淲hat they鈥檙e trying to do is essentially to bus us into a non-negotiable position,鈥� said Marsha Coleman-Adabayo, whose husband is the church’s pastor. 鈥淲hat they鈥檇 like to do is talk about building all around the cemetery site and starting the actual process of surveying and building. 鈥� Then they鈥檙e going to put us in a position where we have to basically respond to what the builders have already done as opposed to looking at this project in a holistic way.鈥�
The project will go before the Montgomery County Planning Commission on Thursday. In a move that recognizes the burial ground might be there, the commission said it will only review site plans for areas that aren鈥檛 part of the disputed land.聽 But some church members are suspicious.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 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,鈥� said Matthews, a who grew up by the church.
He said he has relatives buried under the asphalt across the street from the church.
“I don鈥檛 think that was done in good intention for us at all. It was more so to be favorable to them, the builders, not us, at the churches,鈥� he added.
Church leaders would like to see the planning commission postpone the meeting until it鈥檚 determined if human remains are buried at the site.聽 If that鈥檚 the case, some members of the county council have already said the project will need to be reconfigured.
Adabayo said it should become the site of a museum that tells the story of black enclaves in Montgomery County, similar to the one that used to exist on River Road.聽 She was joined at a rally Sunday by a few dozen supporters, including three mothers whose sons were killed during interactions with police officers.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 a struggle, but through the graces and goodness of the Lord, I think we鈥檒l make it,鈥� said Matthews.
