The site was a key meeting spot for the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike and hosted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A monument to Memphis' resilience became a symbol of its ongoing challenges when historic Clayborn Temple was ravaged by fire on April 28.

The recent fire that consumed Clayborn Temple is a devastating blow, not only to Memphis but to the nation. 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.