PHOTOGRAPH BY DARRIUS B. WILLIAMS
If you’re a woman, you’ve probably had this experience: You’re sitting in a meeting and you make a solid point — something you know needs to be said. Your colleagues nod politely. Ten minutes later, a man makes a remarkably similar point, and the same people are so impressed they laughingly tell him to take the rest of the day off. Wait, what just happened? This month, we introduce a smattering of local women because we know what they’re saying and doing deserves our attention. Pick an industry, trade, or calling and you will find women leading the charge for progress. We spotlight women whose professional and personal contributions help shape our collective future — women who are making points we should all listen to. The people you will read about are remarkable, but this is not a contest or a ranking. Rather, we present women whose contributions, just like those of so many other people of all genders, warrant our attention. Listen up.
Most people placed in charge of a “National Treasure” might feel uncomfortable with such a responsibility. “That doesn’t make me nervous at all,” says Anasa Troutman, executive director of Clayborn Temple, referring to the 2017 declaration from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “It feels like a beautiful opportunity to share something that is so important to me.”
Erected in 1891 as Second Presbyterian Church, and later renamed after a bishop with the African Methodist Episcopal church, the impressive stone building at Linden and Hernando became an enduring symbol of the American civil rights movement. The famous “I AM A MAN” signs carried during the 1968 sanitation workers strike were printed in the basement, organizers gathered here during the protests and marches, and they sought shelter in the sanctuary when police raided the building during those turbulent times.
In more recent years, however, without a congregation, the old church fell into decay, facing demolition. Two developers, Frank Smith and Rob Thompson, purchased the property and stabilized the structure. That’s when Troutman entered the picture — and started the Historic Clayborn Temple nonprofit that now owns the property.
Born in Harlem and raised in New Jersey, after attending Spelman College in Atlanta she realized, “This is where I belong, and so I’ve lived in the South for most of my life.” In school, she formed her own record label, GrooveMusic/EarthSeed Music, and over time became manager for the award-winning performer India.Arie. She honed other skills as well, and today, when asked what she does, Troutman says, “Mostly I tell people I’m a cultural strategist, writer, and producer” — usually doing all three at once — “and I recently added two other monikers: developer and philanthropist.”
“I feel like Clayborn Temple has an opportunity to do what no other building in our city can do, and that’s bring people together in a place of nurturing and peace and love, and showing them what the future holds.” — Anasa Troutman
Troutman’s link to Clayborn began in 2018, when she produced Union: The Musical, presented there as part of the MLK50 events. “I knew I wanted to stay involved with the project,” she says, “because it was so mind-blowingly beautiful and its history was so important to me.”
Smith asked her to serve as executive director for only six months, “but I have no plans to leave,” she says. “I just felt an energy here — for what Dr. King called a ‘revolution of values’ and I wanted to be a part of that.”
She learned quickly, she says, “that to do sustainable social-impact work, it’s important to have access to capital so that the ideas you want to bring to your community are actually accessible to you.” Among her many ventures is The Big WE, which Troutman, CEO and founder, describes on the organization’s website as “her vision of a loving world and her belief in creativity as a pathway to personal, community, and global transformation.”
In fact, The Big WE “is probably what I spend most of my time on,” she says. “It is funding the work on Clayborn Temple, and it’s the most comprehensive, strategic thing that I’ve ever been able to do that can really intersect with any conversation about building cultural power — narrative, economic, and political power.”
Later this fall, Clayborn Temple will begin a two- to three-year renovation that will transform the property into a cultural arts center. Troutman believes “the beauty of Clayborn Temple is that, from both a cultural and geographic standpoint, it sits at an intersection. It’s been both a white Presbyterian church and a Black AME church, and it sits on the border of Downtown and South Memphis. I feel like Clayborn has an opportunity to do what no other building in our city can do, and that’s bring people together in a place of nurturing and peace and love, and showing them what the future holds.”
The word “love” comes up often in any conversation with Troutman. “I feel that’s my role on this planet,” she says. “To bring love into the room, because there’s nothing more potent than love. Love is the answer to every question, because if you say ‘love’ every time you cannot go wrong. Everyone will be treated fairly, and everyone will get what they need. Everyone will have safety and abundance and joy in their lives.”
Clayborn Temple marks an important chapter in any account of civil rights in America. “If the story of Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis ends at the Lorraine Motel, then the beginning of that story is at Clayborn Temple,” says Troutman. “We want to be a welcoming place, presenting what I call ‘future history’ because we are holding onto the past and the future at the same time.”
