Fire at historic Black church in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A occurrence that severely damaged a historic Black church that served arsenic the office for a 1968 sanitation workers’ strike, which brought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, was intentionally set, investigators said Wednesday.

The occurrence astatine the Clayborn Temple, which was undergoing a yearslong renovation, was acceptable successful the interior of the church, the Memphis Fire Department said successful a statement. Investigators are searching for a idiosyncratic suspected of being progressive with the blaze.

Flames engulfed the downtown religion successful the aboriginal hours of April 28. Later that time Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat said the wrong of the gathering was a full nonaccomplishment but determination was inactive anticipation that immoderate of the facade could beryllium salvaged.

The occurrence section said May 14 that the gathering had been stabilized and investigators would usage specialized instrumentality to survey the fire’s cause.

Located conscionable southbound of the iconic Beale Street, the Clayborn Temple was built successful 1892 arsenic the Second Presbyterian Church and primitively served an all-white congregation. In 1949 the gathering was sold to an African Methodist Episcopal congregation and fixed its existent name.

Before the occurrence it was successful the midst of a $25 cardinal restoration task that aims to sphere the architectural and humanities integrity of the Romanesque revival church, including the revival of a 3,000-pipe expansive organ. The task besides seeks to assistance revitalize the vicinity with a museum, taste programing and assemblage outreach.

King was drawn to Memphis successful 1968 to enactment immoderate 1,300 predominantly Black sanitation workers who went connected strike to protestation inhumane treatment. Two workers had been crushed successful a garbage compactor successful 1964, but the faulty instrumentality had not been replaced.

On Feb. 1 of that year, 2 much men, Echol Cole, 36, and Robert Walker, 30, were crushed successful a garbage motortruck compactor. The 2 were declaration workers, truthful they did not suffice for worker’s compensation, and had nary beingness insurance.

Workers past went connected onslaught seeking to unionize and warring for higher wage and safer moving conditions. City officials declared the stoppage amerciable and arrested scores of strikers and protesters.

The Clayborn Temple hosted nightly meetings during the strike, and the movement’s iconic “I AM A MAN” posters were made successful its basement. The temple was besides a staging constituent for marches to City Hall, including 1 connected March 28, 1968, that was led by King and turned convulsive erstwhile constabulary and protesters clashed connected Beale Street. One idiosyncratic was killed.

When marchers retreated to the temple, constabulary fired teardrop state wrong and radical broke immoderate of the stained-glass windows to escape. King promised to pb a second, peaceful march successful Memphis, but helium was changeable by a sniper portion lasting connected the balcony of the Lorraine Motel connected April 4.

After King was assassinated and the onslaught ended with the workers securing a wage raise, the church’s power waned. It fell into disrepair and was vacant for years earlier the renovation effort, which took disconnected successful 2017 acknowledgment to a $400,000 assistance from the National Park Service.

The Clayborn Temple was placed connected the National Register of Historic Places successful 1979. A memorial to the sanitation workers, named “I AM A MAN Plaza,” opened connected religion grounds successful 2018.

Anasa Troutman has been starring the restoration arsenic enforcement manager of Historic Clayborn Temple and laminitis of a nonprofit associated with the church, called The Big We. About $8 cardinal had been spent connected the renovations earlier the fire, and the exterior had been afloat restored, Troutman said.

She said successful a caller interrogation that 2 chimneys had to beryllium demolished earlier investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could safely enactment connected the property, but the religion organ had been removed earlier the fire.

As the occurrence was burning, she said, radical went to the “I AM A MAN” memorial and stood astatine a partition wherever the names of the striking sanitation workers are listed.

“I watched that partition crook into the Wailing Wall, due to the fact that radical were virtually getting retired of their cars, walking up to that partition and wailing, staring astatine the gathering connected fire,” she said.