TOTAL LOSS: Historic Clayborn Temple Burns to Ground

DEVELOPING STORY: The Memphis Fire Dept. and ATF are investigating an early morning blaze that completely destroyed the historic Clayborn Temple. The temple played a central role in the civil rights movement.

“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,” Mayor Paul Young in a press release. “Clayborn Temple has seen struggle before, and it has always overcome. So will we.”

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris called the fire a “devastating loss.”

“The stories born there, the courage summoned there, and the hope nurtured there endure in the hearts of our community,” Harris said in his statement. “That hope will be the foundation of what comes next.”

Young pledged that City Hall would stand with others “to help ensure this sacred place rises again.”