we are the voices of clayborn.
Voices of Clayborn: Memphis’ Story Carried by the People Who Hold It
Voices of Clayborn is a digital campaign powered by Historic Clayborn Temple. It was born in the wake of the devastating April 2025 arson, when the Memphis community rallied around The Big We and began sharing their own stories, helping people understand just how important Clayborn is to both Memphis and American culture. We are carrying that forward with intention, now gathering stories from across the nation so people everywhere understand Clayborn's place in history and have a voice in reimagining it as the heart of Memphis as it is rebuilt.
Across eight gatherings, In This Place 2026 brought together artists, cultural workers, organizers, educators, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, youth, and community members from every corner of Memphis. Nearly 900 Memphians came together across the season, supported by 20 community volunteers, in the strongest year of participation in the season's eight-year history.
ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN
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For more than 130 years, Historic Clayborn Temple has stood as a sacred space of dignity, resilience, and hope. From its beginnings in 1893 as the largest church in the South to its pivotal role in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike, where the world first saw the words “I AM A MAN,” Clayborn has been a beating heart in the pursuit of dignity for all. The strike itself was also a fight about economics, about workers paid so little that many qualified for welfare despite working full time, and about building a different, shared relationship to how a city treats the people who hold it up.
Voices of Clayborn holds this history through sit-down testimonials, Memphians sharing their own memories of the Temple, its meaning, and what it carries forward. Watch the growing playlist below to hear these stories directly from the people who hold them.
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Watching a story, sharing a memory, submitting a photo, or becoming a monthly donor all make someone a Voice of Clayborn. There is no single right way in, and no single kind of person this campaign is for.
“Memphis needs to understand that it has a stake in Clayborn being rebuilt. This is a real future for Memphis, rooted in the vision of beloved community: a shared relationship to how the city's economy, opportunity, and belonging work for everyone.”
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Clayborn Temple is being rebuilt to stand as the heart of Memphis's future cultural district, a gathering place where history, culture, and opportunity meet. Continuing this work in the years since a 2025 attack on the Temple is itself part of this story, proof that Clayborn's community keeps showing up for it.
Why should Clayborn exist 100 years from now? Because a Memphis with Clayborn at its center is a Memphis where community, connection, and opportunity have somewhere to live. That is what this campaign is building toward, together.
Community in Memphis isn't passive; it's something Memphians actively build, one room at a time, and In This Place exists to keep giving them the space to do it.
DO YOU HAVE ARTIFACTS and memorabilia FROM CLAYBORN TEMPLE? We Want Them!
As we work toward rebuilding Historic Clayborn Temple, we are also gathering pieces of its story: original artifacts and memorabilia connected to Clayborn's history. We recently welcomed home an original Clayborn pew, and we are actively searching for more pieces to add to this growing collection. If you have something that belongs to Clayborn's story, reach out and let us know, as it may have a place here too!
Watch us bring the pew home and view other stories in our growing Voices of Clayborn playlist.
BECOME A VOICE OF CLAYBORN
Are you ready to add to Clayborn’s story? Whether you attended a wedding at The Temple, visited on a school trip, or have an ancestor connected to the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike, we want to hear it. You can submit:
A written story: A short story (no more than three paragraphs) about your connection to Clayborn and what The Temple means to you.
A photo and story: A photo with a paragraph explaining the photo and its connection to Clayborn and its history.
A short video: a video (up to two minutes) that illustrates a connection to Clayborn and tells an uncovered story.
An I AM A MAN photo or sighting: A photo of your favorite I AM A MAN merchandise or a sighting of I AM A MAN in your community.
An original Clayborn Temple artifact: Contact us to donate an original Clayborn Temple artifact.