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Representative Harris seeks $10 million to rebuild Claiborne Temple after arson
Summary
Representative Harris urged the committee to provide $10,000,000 for reconstruction of Claiborne Temple in Memphis — a civil‑rights landmark damaged in an April 2025 arson ruled by the ATF — and to house a statewide entrepreneur accelerator at the site as part of recovery.
Representative Harris told the committee that Claiborne Temple, a key site in the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ movement, was damaged by an arson fire in April 2025 that the ATF has ruled arson. "Claiborne Temple was the organizational site for the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike," Harris said, and asked the committee to consider a $10,000,000 appropriation for reconstruction and to support a proposed statewide entrepreneur‑accelerator program to be housed there.
Harris said the organization has launched a $75,000,000 capital campaign and has secured some federal and local funding but seeks state help for restoration and program support. The representative framed the ask as both historic‑preservation spending and an investment in small‑business development across Tennessee.
No formal vote was taken at the informational hearing. Any appropriation would require capital project plans, documentation of damage and a clear scope showing how state funds would be used in concert with federal, local and private funds.
