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| Sadyya Rockett-Miller (center) grieves the destruction of the historic Clayborn Temple, a landmark from the civil rights movement with ties to Martin Luther King, which caught fire, April 28, in Memphis, Tenn. Photo: Albi |
In the early hours of April 27, the Memphis Fire Department (MFD) responded to a two-alarm fire at the historic Clayborn Temple Church in downtown Memphis. By the time dawn descended on the city, a significant part of the historical landscape of Memphis had been devastatingly damaged.
Founded in 1892, the church was originally known as Second Presbyterian, hosting a White congregation. It was later sold in 1949 to a Black congregation and was renamed Clayborn Temple, in honor of African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Bishop Jim Clayborn. As with many Black churches, during the Civil Rights era of the 50s and 60s, Clayborn Temple served as a gathering place for political, social, and cultural activism.  In the wake of deep-rooted segregation and the Jim Crow era, Black people in Memphis struggled under racial inequality and anti-Black racism. Within that struggle was the Black sanitation worker. --- Working 10–12-hour days under conditions that ofttimes included faulty equipment and unsafe conditions that made injuries and accidental deaths a commonplace occurrence. Sanitation workers often lived in poverty, lacking the benefits and livable wages afforded by their White counterparts. Following the death of two Black sanitation workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, in February 1968, who were crushed to death by a malfunctioning truck. And amidst an adequate lack of response from city leaders to address the continuing cries against the mistreatment, neglect and abuse of Black employees, the Sanitation Worker’s Strike was born. Clayborn Temple became the staging ground for the movement, one that brought Civil Rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis. After addressing a gathering of sanitation workers and supporters on April 3, Dr. King was assassinated the next day on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. It was in the basement of the temple that the now iconic “I AM A MAN” signs were printed. In 2017, Clayborn Temple was designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and in 2018, marking the 50th anniversary of the Sanitation Workers Strike, a mixed-metal sculpture of the words “I AM A MAN” was installed adjacent to the temple. District 3 Memphis City Councilwoman Pearl Eva Walker shared with The Final Call the great sadness she feels at seeing the church burn, because of her many personal experiences and memories that occurred within the walls of the historic institution.  “I had the pleasure and experience of meeting the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at Clayborn Temple,” she said. “Not only did I get an introduction, I got a picture with him and had a brief exchange with him. That definitely stands out as one of my memories,” she said. Another significant moment for her was when, during a [Dr. Martin Luther] King Holiday program being held at Clayborn Temple, former 9th Congressional District Congressman Harold Ford Sr., issued a challenge, at the time, for Dr. Willie Herenton to run for mayor of Memphis. Subsequently, in 1991, Dr. Willie Herenton became the first Black mayor of Memphis. He was elected for an unprecedented five terms. During his time in office, Mayor Herenton presented the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan with a key to the city, stating: “It was easy for me as a mayor to present a key … to a man who is worthy, to a man who speaks truth, to a man who possesses wisdom, to a man who is courageous in thought and in action, to an anointed man.” Clayborn Temple closed in 1999, but under its current owner, Anasa Troutman, CEO and founder of The Big We, it had been undergoing extensive renovations. According to its website, the non-profit organization “Works with communities to leverage their cultural assets and build economic, political and narrative power.” Among those works are investments in land development. Representatives of the National Civil Rights Museum (formerly the Lorraine Motel) also issued a public statement on the fire, which read, in part: “Memphis has a choice: mourn in isolation or rebuild in solidarity. History—and Clayborn Temple’s own story—points clearly toward the second. Chaos may have been embedded in a fire, but the community will light the way forward. “Clayborn Temple was, and will continue to be, a house not just of gathering, but of movement, resilience, and rebirth. Fire can take down walls, but it cannot destroy the spirit that built them.” According to a press statement by Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat, the cause of the fire is still unknown and remains under active investigation |
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