Howard University Graduate, Black Cemetery Expert, Dr. Alexandra Jones Attacked for Her Research, Telling the Truth

The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition’s (BACC) ongoing smear and greed campaign, came to a head recently when their self-proclaimed archeologist Tammy Hilburn was exposed on Facebook calling Dr. Alexandra Jones a ”token Black archeologist” — a racial slur often used against African American professionals. In another video, Tammy and the mostly white BACC members labeled Dr. Jones a “criminal”, demanded her arrest and urged their nearly 1,000 Facebook followers to defund Archeology in the Community (AITC).

Founded in 2009, AITC is a non-profit Dr. Jones started with her life-savings to help teach area public school kids about their history, anthropology, and archeology. She also lends her time and expertise to Montgomery County, Maryland African American slave descendants, helping them to locate and preserve historic burial sites for future generations.

A distinguished graduate of Howard University and UC Berkeley, Dr. Jones is a Washington, DC native and holds five degrees, including a Ph.D. She has conducted extensive research and led field archeology excavations related to African American burial sites in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County.

“For nearly twenty years, I have devoted my professional and personal life to the study of African Diaspora history and archeology,” said Dr. Alexandra Jones. “One of my greatest passions is educating young people about the rich and important history of Enslaved and Free African Americans in local communities, such as Montgomery County. It is unfortunate BACC has chosen to ignore the facts and historical research about the River Road Moses Cemetery and instead attack me.”

“I am disgusted by Tammy and BACC’s bitter attacks on Dr. Jones,” said Kelly McKone of Bethesda Self-Storage Partners. “We are at an inflection point in our country. Many of us are trying hard to unify and heal across racial lines and bring an end to the name calling and “cancel culture” that destroys us. We demand Tammy and BACC publicly apologize to our colleague, Dr. Jones for using a slur to describe her.”