° Clayborn Temple and more art by strikeWare

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The church was built in 1892 and bought in 1949 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, giving honor to Bishop John Henry Clayborn. It is an example of romanesque revival architecture and was listed on the historic registry in 1979. The national importance of the building relates, among other tributes, to its landmark status as the site where Sanitation Workers led their iconic “I AM A MAN” marches during the 1968 Civil Rights’ movement. During marches March 28, 1968, police coerced demonstrators into its already tear-gas-filled interior. Two months after the strike began, sanitation workers gathered at the Temple to accept the city’s offer to recognize their union.

By 2002, the church had already fallen into a state of near disrepair and was repurchased and re-institutionalized as the Historic Clayborn Temple on December 19th, 2019. The Historic Clayborn Temple recently succeeded in their multiphase fundraising campaign, raising $1.3 million to own and rehabilitate the building as a Black sacred space.