FROM IMAGINATION TO IMPACT
One of the most powerful stories America has ever heard began at Historic Clayborn Temple. Help us carry this story into the future.
A Personal Invitation
Welcome from anasa troutman
Anasa Troutman, CEO of The Big We, shares how we are rebuilding Clayborn Temple as a center for culture, connection, and opportunity in Memphis and the South, why it matters, and how you can get involved.
The Power of Story
One of the most powerful stories America has ever heard is the story of the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike. The building that held that story, Historic Clayborn Temple, was at the heart of this moment that changed our country forever.
In 1968, Memphis’ sanitation workers stood together for dignity, for safe working conditions, and for fair treatment. They carried signs that read “I AM A MAN,” a declaration of their full humanity. That declaration still stands on the grounds of Historic Clayborn Temple today.
Click below to download our I AM A MAN booklet that details the history of this work.
Holding, stewarding, and sharing our stories matter deeply, and stories reach their full power when we bring them to life. Stories brought to life become pathways to the future, and they give us what we need to create the future we want.
That is exactly what we are doing at The Big We, in all of our work and with Clayborn Temple in particular. This story holds everything we need to know to create a future where everybody is taken care of. Beloved Community, where everyone can experience safety, love, joy, and abundance, lives in the DNA of this work and in this building.
We want you to walk this pathway with us.
Why This Moment Matters
A Foundation for Our Neighborhood, Our City, Our Region, and Our Country
Historic Clayborn Temple is being transformed into a foundation for the restoration of our neighborhood, our city, our region, and our country. It allows the stories of our past heroes to become the fabric of the future of our culture.
That future grows through community practice, connection, and public policy, in all the ways our ancestors and our elders have taught us we can live together. Clayborn fosters connection, community, and the capital investment we need to live our values.
Every partner comes to Clayborn for a different reason. Choose the pathway that speaks to you, and walk it with us toward a future where everyone experiences safety, love, joy, and abundance.
pathways to partnership
Help rebuild the place where the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike found its heart. Your partnership shapes a future Clayborn: a museum that tells this history honestly, a sanctuary restored as a place of connection, and an Innovation Center that brings capital into neighborhoods. Click here to download our most recent Capital Campaign document.
Capital Campaign
Historic Clayborn Temple hosts programs that bring culture to life in Memphis right now, powered by The Big We. Cooperative businesses grow through COIN, young women build their futures through SheLectricity, and Memphians gather each year for In This Place. Click here to watch program and event recaps from 2026, our biggest year of programming yet!
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
The Big We powers work across Memphis, making culture a foundation for community, opportunity, and policy. Clayborn is one chapter of a larger story, and this is where you see the whole of it. Click here to view how we are powering the creation of a regional cultural plan through Memphis Culture Coalition, our advocacy coalition of Memphis-based creatives and arts and culture organizations.
CULTURAL IMPACT
Be part of a sustainable foundation for long-term community impact. Your support helps carry this work and the neighborhoods around Clayborn forward for generations.
Invest in the future
In April 2025, an arson fire took the sanctuary of Historic Clayborn Temple, the building at the heart of the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike. A few days later, Anasa sat down with local news to share what happened and what it meant for Memphis. Her words hold the story, the loss, and the vision that keeps this work moving. This Fall, the work of rebuilding begins, and we invite you to walk this pathway with us.
What happened at clayborn temple?
book a meeting with our founder
Anasa Troutman founded The Big We on the belief that stories hold everything we need to create a future where everybody is taken care of. She would love to hear what moves you about Clayborn and about Memphis. In a personal conversation, you can explore which path fits your vision, from rebuilding Clayborn to supporting the programs at work today. Every partnership begins with a conversation, and yours can begin right now.