A Memphis church known as a rallying spot in the Civil Rights Movement suffered major damage in a fire that broke out early Monday morning.
The 130-year-old Clayborn Temple, in downtown Memphis, is considered a total loss, with only the stone walls remaining at much of the structure, according to local news reports and video footage.
The African Methodist Episcopal church was where supporters and organizers gathered during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike, held after two sanitation workers were killed by a malfunctioning truck. The church remained active until it closed in 1999. It sat vacant for 16 years until a preservation group reopened it for services and gatherings, WMC TV news reported.
The Memphis Police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating the cause of the blaze, MSN news site reported.
Photo: The church in 2017 (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
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