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Grave issue: controversy over historic cemetery by Angela Mu
The treatment of black cemeteries has garnered much attention over the years, with African American rights long at the center of controversy. Demonstrators from the Macedonia Baptist Church in Montgomery County gathered at the church on November 12 to protest the construction of a parking garage over a historic African American burial ground in Bethesda. Around 200 protesters marched from the church to the cemetery site. Many played drums or chanted while holding signs that displayed messages such as “Black Lives Matter.” The protest was a result of the ongoing battle between the county’s Housing Opportunities Commision (HOC) and descendants of the community of freed slaves who once lived there.
Many of these descendants are now members of the Macedonia Baptist Church. The exact locations of the burial plots and boundaries of the cemetery are unknown. However, a large portion of the burial land had actually been reconstructed into a parking lot around 60 years ago, forming what is now part of the Westwood Tower Apartments by River Road.
Arts 16-18
Sports 19-20
According to local historian David Kathan, during the excavation for the parking lot, remains from the buried African Americans were found but ignored. “They uncovered human remains and there’s also reports that a bulldozer pushed them down to the end of this property,” Kathan told Fox 5. CEMETERY, cont. page 3
PHOTO BY VLADY GUTTENBERG
Macedonia Baptist Church protests plans to build over ancestral site.
Zion Tyler’s double success by Jenny Chen
Day in the life of Mr. Monteleone by Magali Ngouabou by Tesia Shi While it is easy for students to describe what teachers do every day, administrative job descriptions become fuzzier. Although every RM student knows who Damon Monteleone is, only a few can name what his responsibilities as a principal include, other than being taped to a wall or giving speeches. 5:30 a.m. Mr. Monteleone wakes up to make both of his kids, a seventh grader and a fourth grader, bag lunches.
Inside The Tide...
6:00 a.m. He wakes up his groggy seventh grader and makes him eat breakfast. After a quick shower, Mr. Monteleone drops him off at his bus stop so they can both begin their hectic school days. 6:50 a.m. He arrives at RM and begins signing checks, leave forms, more checks and anything else which requires his stamp of approval. He then meets with his secretary, Ms. Hermansdorfer, to review his schedule for the day which he has already reviewed the night before, of course. MONTELEONE, cont. page 13
The bold numbers on the countdown time flash with each passing second. Successfully catching a pass from the quarterback, the running back dashes down the field with the number 4 stitched onto his jersey’s upper back. He has been playing football for as long as he can remember, the daily drills and procedures imprinted into his mind like his own name, Zion Tyler. Zion Tyler, the football player. That’s what most people refer to him as, unaware that he is much more than just a “football player.” Having attended a special magnet school for art, he continues to participate in activities beyond just playing as football running back: singing, dancing, running and making art. As a young child, he was exposed to his grandmother’s sketching and painting, observing her swirl around shades of color. It is not a surprise that his grandmother is a major influence in his life. He is seated in the art room during class. His hand guides a pencil across the paper, his eyes following the movement of lines and headphones covering his ears. The setting provides him serenity, pulling him into a world
of curiosity and possibilities. He can often be found here after school with no place to go other than his imagination. “The art room vibe just makes it better,” he said. “Headphones make it a lot better.” While he does not have one word to describe his artwork as an entirety, “political” is the category he conveys through mixed media. He finds political art to be the most inspirational and hopes that his work gives others the same inspiration. To Zion, mixed media
speaks to him loud and clear in a soundproof room. His favorite artwork from this year is a self-portrait with him at the bottom left corner staring intently ahead with bright colors converging together behind him to create an intense environment. Yet the fiery colors were originally created as a mistake. “It wasn’t what I started out with, but it ended up being my favorite piece,” he said. “It explains who I am as a person.” TYLER, cont. page 16
PHOTO BY JENNY CHEN
Along with being a football player, Tyler creates portrait paintings.
Opinions, 6
La Marea, 9
Arts, 18
Sports, 19
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