Clayborn Temple

Clayborn Temple, an example of Romanesque Revival, is located on the corner of Hernando and Pontotoc Streets in Memphis, Tennessee. Originally Second Presbyterian Church, a white congregation, built in 1893, it became Clayborn Temple in 1949 when it was sold to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a black congregation. An important center of Memphis' Civil Rights movement, the Temple was the headquarters of the Sanitation Workers' Strike in 1968. It remained as a symbol of resistance and hope. Clayborn Temple continued to be the epicenter of many human rights protests in Memphis, until a fire broke out in April 2025 and practically destroyed the church. Efforts are underway to rebuild and there is currently a capital campaign in progress to restore the building.