Watch this video to learn more about the Community Leadership Council.
Historic Clayborn Temple’s
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
will be made up of 23 members from historic Black neighborhoods in North & South Memphis to serve as the governing body for our Restorative Economics work in South Memphis.
Learn About Restorative Economic Models
Learn more about Food Cooperatives with Malik Yakini, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Detroit People’s Food Co-op
Explore Alternative Economic Models with Kayon Montaque, Affiliated Consultant, Research and Data Analysis, Standpoint Consulting
Learn more about Housing Cooperatives with Noni Session, Executive Director, East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative.
About
IN THIS PLACE
The economic model that Memphis, Tennessee was built on has left too many unable to live an abundant life.
By healing the PLACES we live -- our neighborhoods-- we can create the space to heal as INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES and a CITY.
The Historic Clayborn Temple, rooted in history as a place for labor organizing, is now undergoing restoration and a focus to bring restoration to the neighborhood to honor and continue the work of the people who made it matter.
As we approach the restoration of our magnificent building, Historic Clayborn Temple continues its conversation about the restoration of African American communities. Our contribution to this vision is rooted in our history as a place for commitment to human dignity and economic equity for African American communities. Join us as we look towards the future of our city and the future of our work, informed by our efforts to restore our historic building and the people who made it matter.
OUR focus.
By increasing awareness of restorative economics and contributing to the establishment of cooperative entities, we will benefit laborers within disinvested Memphis neighborhoods. This will move Memphis from being an extractive economy to one that's inclusive. Simply put, Black people who have historically been used for their labor, with little benefit to themselves or their communities, can receive ownership of their labor.
OUR location.
The Historic Clayborn Temple is the ideal location for this, as the place and the people can be rebuilt together.
This was originally an organizing location for AFSCME Local 1733 in 1968. It is where Memphis sanitation workers declared their humanity. The history of the strike and the subsequent assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had come to Memphis to support the union and lift the critical work happening at the intersection of race and class, makes Clayborn an excellent place for restorative economics to take root.
OUR Community Leadership Council.
The In This Place Community Leadership Council (the Council) will comprise twenty-three members from across the historic and disinvested Memphis neighborhoods.
The Council will spend approximately 10 hours per week serving as the governing body for the restorative economics work, learning about the approach and advising the focal community’s leaders on the creation of cooperatives (worker, housing and food).
To qualify, you must be a current resident of one of the neighborhoods listed below OR a former resident who is still active in that community.
South Memphis
Soulsville
Longview Heights
Glenview
Bunker Hill
Riverview Kansas
Orange Mound
North Memphis
Klondike
Smokey City
Hollywood
The neighborhoods were selected because they were once thriving, working and middle-class black communities where wealth has been extracted.