‘More than just bricks’: Historic 130-year-old church burns down

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC/Gray News)— A historic church in Tennessee hailed as an epicenter during the Civil Rights Movement has suffered significant damage after it caught fire and burned early Monday.

Officials with the Memphis Fire Department said a fire broke out at Clayborn Temple on Hernando Street in Memphis around 1:30 a.m.

After the fire was dealt with, the fire department along with city officials held a press event to discuss the damage and aftermath.

During the presser, officials said the church sustained significant damage with most of the damage done to the inside of the building.

The church was founded as a second Presbyterian church in 1892.

It later became a centerpiece of the Civil Rights Movement in 1968 when striking sanitation workers gathered there.

The church closed in 1999 for a restoration project.

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis released a statement addressing the fire.

“The recent fire that consumed Clayborn Temple is a devastating blow, not only to Memphis but to the nation,” the statement reads in part. “This historic church, a nerve center of the Civil Rights Movement, was more than just bricks and stained glass; it was a beating heart of a community that chose unity over division, progress over fear, and community over chaos.”

The statement continues with an uplifting message.

“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. It was spiritual. It was communal. And that foundation cannot be burned.”

The fire department said the fire is under control, but that it is a “total loss.”

No firefighters were injured, according to fire chief Gina Sweat.

Investigators are working with the Memphis Police Department and the ATF to determine the cause of the fire.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young also released a statement regarding the fire.

“We grieve deeply for what has been lost, but we also stand ready to honor Clayborn’s legacy the only way we know how: by coming together to restore, rebuild, and ,” he said in part.

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