If Councilmember Natali Fani-González had her way, everyone in Montgomery County would walk by Wheaton Veterans Park on Amherst Avenue and read the newly unveiled marker commemorating a couple who fought against segregation.
The plaque, which was unveiled Thursday morning by Montgomery County Planning Board, commemorates civil rights leaders Elsie S. Horad and Romeo W. Horad, Sr., a married couple in the 1930 and 1940s who helped African Americans purchase homes in suburban Maryland despite restrictive covenants.
They advocated for integration and their home on 2118 University Boulevard West, which was purchased by Elsie Horad’s grandparents, still stands. It is being considered for historic designation.
Elsie Horad held leadership positions in the Montgomery County Colored Republican Club and other women’s groups.
Romeo Horad headed a real estate firm and worked with white realtors to enable African Americans to move across the Beltway and into suburban Maryland. He worked for desegregation of public restrooms and unsuccessful ran in 1948 for Montgomery County council.
During a short ceremony Thursday, Fani-González declared, “This is a big deal. it just shows the beauty of this county, how much we have evolved and also how far we have to go.”
Jason Sartori, Montgomery County planning director, stressed the importance of knowing the area’s history, including incidents of discrimination, which he called “a painful part of this county and this country’s past.”
Also on Thursday, Montgomery County planners recognized another new marker that was recently installed in collaboration with WMATA at the Forest Glen Metro Station in Silver Spring.
It honors the 66-mile march around the Capital Beltway in 1966 to protest housing discrimination in DC’s suburbs.
