MEMPHIS, TN — Large portions of the historic Clayborn Temple in downtown Memphis, a key meeting spot for the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike that brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the city, burned to the ground on April 28.
In a post to X, the Memphis Fire Fighters Association said the call about the fire came in around 1:30 a.m. Memphis Fire Department firefighters were able to put out most of the fire within an hour of arriving on the scene.
By 7:30 a.m., firefighters were still putting water on hot spots, and most of the structure had been destroyed. Investigators were on scene to try to determine the cause of the blaze. No one was injured in the fire.
Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat said she instructed firefighters to do the least possible damage to what remained of the structure as they battled the blaze. The fire department is working with the Memphis Police Department to investigate.
Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene, and additional investigators are heading to Memphis to help, officials confirmed.
‘A piece of civil rights history’: Tragic Clayborn Temple fire a ‘devastating blow’ to Memphis and civil rights history
‘This is a big blow’
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the historic monument is a jewel to Memphis and to the world. He added that it is “heartbreaking” for the community to see the loss.
“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. “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.”
Anasa Troutman, the founder and executive director of Historic Clayborn Team, said in a statement that the church “suffered a devastating loss due to a fire.”
“Clayborn’s true spirit was never in the walls alone. It lives in us. Even as we mourn, we must remember: resilience is our birthright, but so is the space to grieve,” Troutman said. “Our ancestors endured, grieved, rebuilt, and transcended unimaginable losses. We will do the same.”
Troutman also said she is still committed to the restoration of Clayborn Temple.
“For now, we ask for your prayers, your support, and your belief in the enduring power of this place. This is not the end, but a call to remember who we are, and to build again with faith, courage, and abundant love,” Troutman said. “If you can support, please visit Clayborn.org and give if you can.”
‘Transformative’: Looking forward and back as the Civil Rights Act turns 60
Historic structure had been undergoing renovations
The site had been undergoing years of renovations to preserve the iconic structure, but had struggled to get all the funding for needed repairs.
In late 2023, a $6 million second phase of restoration to the structure was completed. The phase included preserving stained glass windows and reinforcing the attic, according to previous reporting from The Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network. The third phase of renovations was expected to cost about $25 million.
During the Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968, civil rights and labor activists gathered at and organized out of Clayborn Temple.
Carrie Louise Pinson, who marched with King, said she drove from Cordova — a community east of Memphis — when she saw the news of the structure burning. Pinson said her early days of activism started at the Clayborn Temple.
“It’s as if somebody has taken the air out of my body, where I started at 18 years old, fighting for justice. It just makes me tearful. It makes me cry,” Pinson said.
The National Civil Rights Museum said in a statement from President Dr. Russ Wigginton that the fire is a “devastating blow” to Memphis and the broader community. The church was the “nerve center” of the Civil Rights movement, he said in the statement, and “was a beating heart of a community that chose unity over division, progress over fear, and community over chaos.”
“Its destruction by fire is another somber chapter in a long story of devastated sacred spaces. But if history teaches us anything, it’s this: Clayborn Temple will rise again, because its foundation was never merely physical,” Wigginton said. “It was spiritual. It was communal. And that foundation cannot be burned.”
He also called for coordinated financial recovery efforts, rebuilding the structure, and preserving what is left.
“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,” Wigginton said.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Fire destroys historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis linked to MLK Jr.
