The notorious and historic Clayborn Temple, located in Memphis, was partially burned to the ground in a fire on April 28. The church is deeply tied to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, making this incident a heartbreaking event.
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According to the Memphis Fire Fighters Association, they received a call reporting the fire at Clayborn Temple at around 1:30 a.m. on April 28. As per WREG, firefighters continued putting out hot spots around 9 a.m.
As reported by The Guardian, the fire was largely contained within the hour. However, several hotspots inside Clayborn Temple forced firefighters to remain at the scene for hours throughout the day.
Memphis Fire Department Chief Gina Sweat stated that the building sustained “significant damage.” Given the significance of the temple, Sweat called the fire “devastating.”
“Due to the significant damage, we could not go inside the building at that point, so we’re having to fight the fire, the rest of it, from the outside,” Sweat said at the time, as per The Guardian.
“This is going to take some time due to the significant damage to the structure. It’s still an active investigation and we’re working diligently and thoroughly.”
Reactions
Reacting to the news, Memphis Mayor Paul Young called Clayborn Temple more than a “historic building,” but a “sacred ground.”
“This is a big blow. This really hurts. There’s a lot of people, including myself, that have been working on this project for many, many years, like I told them, about this, the work is bigger than a building,” Young said, according to the Commercial Appeal. “And we can replace structures. We can design around the elements of the structure that will remain, but the work must continue, and I think that is the important point.”
As reported by WREG, Clayborn Temple was the iconic meeting spot for many sanitation workers in 1968. Attention drawn by their strike eventually led to the Martin Luther King Jr.-led march on March 28, 1968. King was supposed to march with the Clayborn Temple sanitation workers on April 8. However, on April 4, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
The National Civil Rights Museum issued a statement, shared with WMC, saying that the fire was a “devastating blow.”
“Its destruction by fire is another somber chapter in a long story of devastated sacred spaces,” the statement read. “But if history teaches us anything, it’s this: Clayborn Temple will rise again, because its foundation was never merely physical. It was spiritual. It was communal. And that foundation cannot be burned.”
The fire is currently under investigation by the Memphis Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.