KERRY CHARLES

A massive fire, early this morning, at the historic #ClaybornTemple in #Memphis. Clayborn Temple was the launching point for a march for sanitation workers’ rights that Dr. #MartinLutherKingJr planned to lead in Memphis in 1968. The iconic “I Am A Man” signs used in the march were printed there. #MLK planned to march with sanitation workers from Clayborn Temple on April 8, before he was assassinated April 4 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. #CorettaScottKing (his wife, human rights activist and King Center founder) led strikers and thousands of supporters in his place. Mayor Paul Young visited the site Monday morning, saying that the work that went on in Clayborn Temple, one of Memphis’s greatest treasures, will continue. “Clayborn Temple is more than a historic building. It is a sacred ground. It is the beating heart of the civil rights movement, a symbol of struggle, hope, and triumph that belongs not just to Memphis but to the world,” said Mayor Young in a press release. “Clayborn Temple has seen struggle before, and it has always overcome. So will we.”