Resources
Want to learn more about Black River Road history? Below you will find related material that has contributed to the growth and success of this project.
*Please note that this page is currently under construction
It’s important to note that many of the historical sources are biased and include anti-Black racism. Please think critically when viewing this content
Amm Thomas. 2008. Scotland AME Zion Mass Choir Celebrate Sis.Thompson Day Pt 2. Video. Scotland AME Zion Church. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gIhEfyEL8s.
Barnes, Andrew. 1966. “A Poor Community Repels Invaders: New Community Planned Cleanup Campaign Rezoning Needed Improved Study Facilities.” The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973); Washington, D.C., March 27, 1966, sec. Outlook.
Barr, Cameron W. 2005. “Sense of Security: Priceless; Crossing Guard Stands Sentry in Montgomery, at No Cost to County: [FINAL Edition].” The Washington Post; Washington, D.C., December 19, 2005, sec. METRO.
Belford, Susan. 2015. “Potomac: Scotland A.M.E. Zion Church To Celebrate 110 Years.” Connection Newspapers, September 9, 2015. http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2015/sep/09/potomac-scotland-me-zion-church-celebrate-110-year/.
“Bette Thompson 1935-2016.” n.d. Accessed February 6, 2019. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1934785455/429C45B60EA04690PQ/8?accountid=46320.
Brown, DeNeen L. 2007. “The Scotland Of the Doves,” January 14, 2007. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/13/AR2007011301255.html.
Calamaio, Cody. 2010. “Scotland Church Looks to Reconnect, Renovate, Expand.” Gazette.Net. May 5, 2010. http://www.gazette.net/stories/05052010/chevnew221817_32558.php.
“Deed from Frank Dove to Scotland Community Development.” n.d. Accessed February 5, 2019. https://mdlandrec.net/tmp7/landrec/2019-02-05/images/7960F11E-E013-E046-828F3C9980E589EC/pdf/79649C31-FBD3-5298-C25AB9A93E195A70.pdf.
Deppisch, Breanne. 2016. “Bette Thompson, Activist Who Helped Transfrorm Black Md. Enclave, Dies at 80.” The Washington Post, February 5, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/bette-thompson-activist-who-helped-transform-black-md-enclave-dies-at-80/2016/02/05/88adbde8-cb66-11e5-88ff-e2d1b4289c2f_story.html?utm_term=.d77627f8ccfc.
Dilts, James D. 1968. “The Changing City: Swinging Scotland A Negro Community Re-Houses Itself.” The Sun (1837-1993); Baltimore, Md., December 15, 1968.
Goldstein, Wayne. 2008. “Civil Rights and Wrongs In Montgomery County in 2008.” The Montgomery Sentinel, January 24, 2008, sec. Federation Corner. Montgomery Civic.org. https://montgomerycivic.org/files/fedcorner20080124.pdf.
Heritage Montgomery. 2015. “Community Cornerstones: A Selection of Historic African American Churches in Montgomery County, Maryland.” Heritage Montgomery. https://www.heritagemontgomery.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/community-cornerstones-brochure.pdf.
Jones, Alexandra. n.d. “Gibson Grove Gone But Not Forgotten: The Archaeology of an African American Church,” 82.
Kaiman, Beth. 1991. “Multicultural Agency Honors 12 Women: [FINAL Edition].” The Washington Post (Pre-1997 Fulltext); Washington, D.C., May 30, 1991, sec. WEEKLY – MARYLAND.
Leftwich, Troy, Patrick Butler, and Khalid Afzal. 2017. “Cabin John Shopping Center, Administration Subdivision Plan No. 620170050.” Montgomery County Planning Department: The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. http://www.montgomeryplanningboard.org/agenda/2017/documents/9_14_620170050-CabinJohnShoppingCenterStaffReportFINAL.pdf.
Levine, Harvey A. 2000. “The Resurrection of ‘Scotland.’” The Montgomery County Story 43 (2): 125–35.
Mccoy, Maddy. 2012. “Historic Wanderings: Scotland AME Zion Church & Cemetery, Potomac, MD.” Historic Wanderings (blog). May 30, 2012. https://historicwanderings.blogspot.com/2012/05/scotland-ame-zion-church-cemetery.html.
Mimi Doitch. 2013. Scotland AME Zion Church Men’s Choir (: Video. Scotland AME Zion Church. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THqAmp4tAZ8.
Montgomery County. n.d. “Bette Carol Thompson Scotland Neighborhood Recreation Center – Department of Recreation – Montgomery County, Maryland.” Montgomery County Recreation. Accessed December 6, 2018. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec/facilities/recreationcenters/scotland.html.
Montgomery County Council. 2005. Paths to the Present #45 – Scotland AME Church and Community. Vol. 45. Paths to the Present: Montgomery County Stories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XRZo0fQRP0.
———. n.d. Tour of Scotland Community Center. Accessed December 3, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogaP4p1nufY.
Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2011. “Maryland Minority Health Disparities Selected Statewide and Montgomery County Data (February 2011).Pdf.” February 11, 2011. https://health.maryland.gov/mhhd/Documents/Selected%20Statewide%20and%20Montgomery%20County%20Data%20(February%202011).pdf.
Post, Special to The. 1895. “ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT: Two Denizens of the ‘Snake Den’ Jailed at Rockville.” The Washington Post (1877-1922); Washington, D.C., May 20, 1895.
Rainville, Lynn. 2009. “Protecting Our Shared Heritage in African-American Cemeteries.” Journal of Field Archaeology 34 (2): 196–206.
Rathner, Janet Lubman. 2005. “Generations Of Residents Settle Down In Scotland.” Washington Post, June 18, 2005, sec. Where We Live. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/17/AR2005061700588.html.
Reporter, PETER DIGGINS Staff. 1964. “Poverty Area Toured By Montgomery Group.” The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973); Washington, D.C., December 6, 1964, sec. City Life.
Rosario, Ivy Lee. n.d. “Affordable MD Townhomes Undergoing $14M Rehab.” Accessed December 3, 2018. https://www.multihousingnews.com/post/affordable-md-townhomes-undergoing-14m-rehab/.
Schiffrin, Deborah. 2009. “Crossing Boundaries: The Nexus of Time, Space, Person, and Place in Narrative.” Language in Society 38 (4): 421–45. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404509990212.
Scotland AME Zion Church. n.d. “Scotland AME Zion Church Website.” Accessed January 13, 2019. http://www.scotlandamezion.org/.
“Scotland Surveyor’s Certificate 1968.” n.d.
Seckinger, David. 2011. “Rich History, Development Define Scotland Community.” Potomac, MD Patch. February 7, 2011. https://patch.com/maryland/potomac/rich-history-development-define-scotland-community.
The Washington Post (1923-1954); Washington, D.C. 1934. “County Will Pave Seven Locks Road: Decision Settles Debate Over Two Stretches.,” August 15, 1934.
The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973); Washington, D.C. 1966. “Residents View Models Of Houses for Scotland,” June 9, 1966, sec. General News/ Comics.
Writer, Andrew Barnes Washington Post Staff. 1966. “University Students Will Help Plan Rebirth of Dilapidated Scotland, Md.” The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973); Washington, D.C., April 18, 1966, sec. City Life.
Writer, Steve Hendrix-Washington Post Staff. 2007. “Renovations Near for Aging Community Centers; $320,000 Requested, And More Considered: [FINAL Edition].” The Washington Post; Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007, sec. MONTGOMERY EXTRA.
Writer, Thomas W. Lippman Washington Post Staff. 1967. “Town Houses Proposed For Rundown Scotland.” The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973); Washington, D.C., October 6, 1967, sec. City Life.
Writer, Walter B. Douglas Washington Post Staff. 1965. “Hope Growing in Scotland Community: Condemnation Threatened Federal Loans Sought 2 Buses Crash, 23 Die Caracas Doctors Out.” The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973); Washington, D.C., August 19, 1965, sec. Area News/Comics.
Bowman, Bryan, and Kathy Roberts Forde. n.d. “Exploiting Black Labor after the Abolition of Slavery.” The Conversation. Accessed January 3, 2019. http://theconversation.com/exploiting-black-labor-after-the-abolition-of-slavery-72482.
Brewer, William M. 1928. “John B. Russwurm.” The Journal of Negro History 13 (4): 413–22. https://doi.org/10.2307/2713842.
Burg, Steven B. 2008. “‘From Troubled Ground to Common Ground’: The Locust-Grove African American Cemetery Restoration Project: A Case Study of Service-Learning and Community History.” The Public Historian 30 (2): 51–82. https://doi.org/10.1525/tph.2008.30.2.51.
Chapin, R. C. 1893. Review of Review of Studies in the Civil, Social and Ecclesiastical History of Early Maryland, by Theodore C. Gambrall. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 4: 124–25.
Chidester, Robert C., and David A. Gadsby. 2009. “One Neighborhood, Two Communities: The Public Archaeology of Class in a Gentrifying Urban Neighborhood.” International Labor and Working-Class History, no. 76: 127–46.
Coleman-Adebayo, Marsha. 2017a. “Continued Desecration of the Bethesda African Cemetery: We Shall Stay in Our Resistance! Part II.” Informational. Black Agenda Report (blog). February 22, 2017. https://www.blackagendareport.com/bethesda_african_cemetery_part_ii.
———. 2017b. “The Community Had a Duty to Shut Down the Montgomery County Hearing on the Bethesda African Burial Ground.” Black Agenda Report. April 12, 2017. http://www.blackagendareport.com/shut_down_hearing_burial_ground.
Collins, Sam, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Harvey Matthews, and SURJ Montgomery County. 2018. “All Eyes On DC Video of Sankofa Event about River Road.” Facebook. September 20, 2018. https://www.facebook.com/surjmocomd/videos/2156416987979586/UzpfSTE2MjIyMjM1MDExNzQ4MDQ6MjA2Mjc1MTY4Mzc4ODY0OA/.
Condon, Sean. 2011. “The Significance of Group Manumissions in Post-Revolutionary Rural Maryland.” Slavery & Abolition 32 (1): 75–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144039X.2011.538199.
Cummings, Elijah. 2005. “A Reunion With History.” Sacramento Observer; Sacramento, Calif., July 21, 2005.
Dyer, Robert. 2017. “Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row: Bethesda Church, Supporters to Protest Westbard Developer Plan to Build atop African-American Cemetery.” Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row (blog). February 9, 2017. http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/bethesda-church-supporters-to-protest.html.
Fisher, Marc. 2017. “Building Over A Burial Ground: A Local Church Grapples With Montgomery County, Ft. Dr. Maersha Coleman-Adebayo and Gwen Wright.” The Kojo Nnamdi Show. WPFW. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2017-03-28/county-church-battle-over-development-atop-potential-african-american-burial-ground.
Fitzgerald, Michael. 2018. “Researching Jazz History in Washington, DC.” In DC Jazz, 171–82. Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC. Georgetown University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvnh25.17.
Flanagan, Neil. 2013. “How Can Fort Reno’s History Come to Life?” December 19, 2013. http://tsarchitect.nsflanagan.net/?p=2652.
———. n.d. “1907 Tennallytown Map.” Accessed November 9, 2018. http://tsarchitect.nsflanagan.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1907-tenleytown-baist.jpg.
Fox Hill Residences. n.d. “The History of Bethesda.” Realty. Fox Hill. https://foxhillresidences.com/our-community/history-of-bethesda-maryland/.
Green, Rodney D., Judy K. Mulusa, Andre A. Byers, and Clevester Parmer. 2017. “The Indirect Displacement Hypothesis: A Case Study in Washington, D.C.” Review of Black Political Economy; Baton Rouge 44 (1–2): 1–22. http://dx.doi.org.proxyau.wrlc.org/10.1007/s12114-016-9242-9.
Helm, Judith Beck. 1981. Tenleytown, D.C., Country Village into City Neighborhood. 1st edition. Washington, D.C: Tennally Press.
Henry, John. 2017. “Black Church Fights Development in Bethesda | Wusa9.Com.” News. WUSA. February 9, 2017. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/black-church-fights-development-in-bethesda/406649324.
Housing Opportunities Commission. 2018. “Westwood Tower.” Housing Opportunities Commission -. 2018. http://www.hocmc.org/extra/704-westwood-tower.html.
Jackson, Jonathan. 2015. “The Consequences of Gentrification for Racial Change in Washington, DC.” Housing Policy Debate 25 (2): 353–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2014.921221.
Jackson, Luther P. 1931. “Introduction.” The Journal of Negro History 16 (2): 168–70. https://doi.org/10.2307/2714080.
Jones, Diane. 2011. “The City of the Dead: The Place of Cultural Identity and Environmental Sustainability in the African-American Cemetery.” Landscape Journal 30 (2): 226–40.
Judge, Monique. 2017. “Fight to Save an African-American Burial Ground Continues in Bethesda, Md.” November 14, 2017. https://www.theroot.com/fight-to-save-an-african-american-burial-ground-continu-1820459197.
Kathan, DAVID, AMY RISPIN, and L. PAIGE WHITLEY. 2017. “Tracing a Bethesda, Maryland, African American Community and Its Contested Cemetery.” Washington History 29 (2): 24–41.
Kathan, David, Amy Rispin, and L Paige Whitley. 2017. “The Forgotten African American Community of River Road.” Dethesda, MD.
King Jr., Sterling. 2016. “Testimony Presented to the Montgomery City Council.” Presentation at a Hearing presented at the Council Hearing on the Westbard Sector Plan, February 4. http://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Attachment-A_King-Testimony.pdf.
King, Julia A., Bruce W. Bevan, and Robert J. Hurry. 1993. “The Reliability of Geophysical Surveys at Historic-Period Cemeteries: An Example from the Plains Cemetery, Mechanicsville, Maryland.” Historical Archaeology 27 (3): 4–16.
Lambert, Evan. 2017. “Another Battle between Bethesda Church and Developers over Historic Black Cemetery.” News. WTTG. December 14, 2017. http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/another-battle-between-bethesda-church-and-developers-over-historic-black-cemetery.
Leshan, Bruce. 2018. “Activists Struggle to Save Piece of African American History.” WUSA. February 13, 2018. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/bethesda/activists-struggle-to-save-piece-of-african-american-history/65-518389763.
Little Shed Waterfall Alliance. n.d. “Westbard’s Forgotten History – Plantations, Emancipation and the Jim Crow Era | Little Falls Watershed Alliance.” Accessed November 9, 2018. https://www.lfwa.org/westbards-forgotten-history-plantations-emancipation-and-jim-crow-era.
Macedonia Baptist Church. n.d. “Macedonia Baptist Church.” Facebook. Accessed November 28, 2018. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Macedonia-Baptist-Church/100874856623698.
Maryland Historical Trust. 2006. “Maryland Historical Trust Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form.” Montgomery Planning. http://montgomeryplanning.org/historic/resources/documents/BrookdaleMIHP8-30-06.pdf.
Michael Quander. 2018. “‘He Was a Slave Owner’ | Student Exposes Information about American University’s Founder.” News. WUSA. April 10, 2018. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/he-was-a-slave-owner-student-exposes-information-about-american-universitys-founder/65-537089900.
Montgomery County Archives. 1997. “Guide to the Records of the DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 1969-1987.” Gaithersburg, Maryland: Montgomery County Archives. http://montgomeryhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/housing1.pdf.
Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission. n.d. “Montgomery County Cemetery Inventory.” Montgomery Planning. Accessed September 7, 2018. http://montgomeryplanning.org/planning/historic/montgomery-county-cemetery-inventory/.
Montgomery Preservation. n.d. “Historic Montgomery County Cemeteries and County Cemetery Inventory.” Informational. Montgomery Preservation. https://www.montgomerypreservation.org/historic-cemeteries/.
Olsen, Joshua. 2004. “Gentrification in Washington: A Blessing or a Curse?” The Next American City; New York, 2004.
Osborne, Tariq. 2009. “Dade Heritage Trust to Investigate Black Graveyard.” Miami Times; Miami, Fla., July 1, 2009.
Perry, Tony C. 2017. “In Bondage When Cold Was King: The Frigid Terrain of Slavery in Antebellum Maryland.” Slavery & Abolition 38 (1): 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144039X.2017.1284923.
Popular Resistance. 2017. “Communities Vow to Stop Equity One from Building on Cemetery.” News. Popular Resistance (blog). February 12, 2017. https://popularresistance.org/communities-vow-to-stop-equity-one-from-building-on-cemetery/.
Poteat, Lauren M. 2017. “MoCo Church Loses Claim to Slave Burial Grounds.” The Washington Informer, March 1, 2017. https://washingtoninformer.com/moco-church-loses-claim-to-slave-burial-grounds/.
Rev. Dr. Sterling King, Jr, and Olusegun Adebayo. 2011. Macedonia Baptist Church 1920-2011: A History of the Little Church on the Hill. Bethesda, MD: Macedonia Baptist Church. https://dra.american.edu/islandora/object/auislandora%3A77831.
Rodgers, Bethany. 2017. “Macedonia Baptist Church Seeks Historic Designation for Cemetery Site in Bethesda.” Bethesda Magazine, December 22, 2017. https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/news/macedonia-baptist-church-seeks-historic-designation-for-cemetery-site-in-bethesda/.
Rotenstein, David. 2017. “The Moses Cemetery: Where Serial Displacement Meets History.” The Activist History Review (blog). December 1, 2017. https://activisthistory.com/2017/12/01/the-moses-cemetery-where-serial-displacement-meets-history/.
Rotenstein, Davis S. 2018. “The River Road Moses Cemetry: A Historic Preservation Evaluation.” Silver Spring, MD.
Save Bethesda African Cemetery. n.d. “Video of Mr. Harvey Matthews at HOC.” Facebook. Accessed December 9, 2018. https://www.facebook.com/bethesdaafricancemetery/videos/1679565428773944/.
Stewart, Kathryn. 2017. “Bethesda Community Rallies to Save African-American Burial Ground.” WTOP. November 12, 2017. https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2017/11/bethesda-community-rallies-save-african-burial-ground/.
SURJ Montgomery County. 2018. The Struggle for Bethesda African Cemetery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovu-9KRrEuI.
The Ottery Group. 2017. “Historical and Cemetery Assessment for Parcel 175 of the Westbard Sector Plan Project.” PRELIMINARY REPORT. Bethesda, Maryland. http://www.hocmc.org/images/files/PressRelease/Ottery_Draft_Report_Historical_Cemetery_Assessment_of_Parcel_175.pdf.
The White House Historical Association. n.d. “Slavery and the White House.” WHHA (En-US). Accessed January 6, 2019. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-fact-sheets/slavery-and-the-white-house.
Turque, Bill. 2017. “‘Battlefield of Memory’: Asphalt Where a Black Cemetery Is Said to Have Stood.” The Washington Post. February 23, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-battlefield-of-memory-asphalt-where-a-black-cemetery-is-said-to-have-stood/2017/02/23/af01ba42-efa2-11e6-9973-c5efb7ccfb0d_story.html?utm_term=.a54f5abbf753.