A historic landmark in downtown Memphis with ties to the Civil Rights motion tragically caught fireplace on Monday morning. In keeping with WREG, the Memphis Hearth Division and the ATF are nonetheless investigating what prompted Clayborn Temple, a spot of worship on the intersection of Hernando Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, to be engulfed in flames. Within the meantime, neighborhood leaders in Memphis are left reeling over the destruction and hoping the temple might be restored.
“Clayborn Temple is greater than a historic constructing. It’s a sacred floor. It’s the beating coronary heart of the civil rights motion, an emblem of wrestle, hope, and triumph that belongs not simply to Memphis however to the world,” Memphis Mayor Paul Younger stated by way of press launch. “Clayborn Temple has seen wrestle earlier than, and it has all the time overcome. So will we.”
Dr. Russ Wigginton, President of the Nationwide Civil Rights Museum, additionally lamented the tragedy, however, just like the mayor, he expressed hope and optimism, declaring that the hearth might take down the temple’s partitions, “however it can not destroy the spirit that constructed them.”
“The current fireplace that consumed Clayborn Temple is a devastating blow, not solely to Memphis however to the nation,” Wiggington stated in an announcement. “This historic church, a nerve middle of the Civil Rights Motion, was extra than simply bricks and stained glass; it was a beating coronary heart of a neighborhood that selected unity over division, progress over concern, and neighborhood over chaos.”
Right here’s a bit of extra historical past on the temple by way of WREG:
Clayborn Temple was the launching level for a march for sanitation staff’ rights that introduced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis in 1968. The enduring “I Am A Man” indicators used within the march had been printed there.
Dr. King deliberate to march with sanitation staff from Clayborn Temple on April 8, earlier than he was assassinated April 4 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. His spouse, Coretta Scott King, led strikers and 1000’s of supporters in his place.
The constructing dates to 1892, when it was initially Second Presbyterian Church.
In 2018, the Nationwide Belief for Historic Preservation formally named the church a nationwide treasure. It has been present process a multi-million greenback restoration and is the location of the I Am A Man Plaza.
Hearth Chief Gina Sweat reported that firefighters had been nonetheless placing out scorching spots round 9 a.m. Monday morning. It’s unclear how intensive the harm is, however images taken on the scene present a constructing consumed in flames and a constructing in destroy within the aftermath, indicating that any highway to restoration might be an extended one.
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