The church where MLK gave his final speech is getting a $1.2 million renovation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Mason Temple, a church in Memphis where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech, will be upgraded with a $1.2 million federal grant to preserve a treasured piece of the Civil Rights Movement, officials are expected to announce Monday.

It’s part of a nearly $18 million package for Memphis projects included in the annual congressional appropriations process.

The package also includes $3.1 million for the restoration of historic Clayborn Temple, the staging area for the 1968 sanitation workers strike that brought King to Memphis. It was heavily damaged by a fire investigators say was intentionally set in April 2025.

The grant for Mason Temple is for long-term facility improvements and technology infrastructure upgrades, with more details set to come at a Monday afternoon news conference by Church Of God in Christ leaders and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Memphis who first announced the grant in February.

The two churches being renovated are located near the former Lorraine Motel, where King was fatally shot on the evening of April 4, 1968. Fighting an illness, King visited Mason Temple the night before and made what was his last speech, the stirring “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” address.

King, 39, gave an impassioned account of his life experiences and seemed to foretell his own death.

“I’ve seen the Promised Land. ... I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land,” King said.

In a 2018 Associated Press story about the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, witnesses described how King captivated the audience in the packed church during a thunderstorm.

“It’s a tin roof, so that’s banging. There’s rafters up there above us, and the rafters are blowing with the wind and hitting each other and hitting the walls from the fierceness of the wind and the rain,” said the Rev. James Lawson, a prominent civil rights activist.

When he finished, King slumped into a chair. To Mike Cody, one of King's lawyers, he looked like a “toy that had the air taken out of it.”

“Ministers, men were crying,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson told the AP in the 2018 story.

The Mason Temple was completed in 1945 following the destruction of the original church by fire. It serves as the world headquarters for the Church Of God in Christ.

It was also the site of a January 2023 memorial service for Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died after he was brutally beaten by Memphis police officers after he fled a traffic stop.

FILE - People attend a ceremony commemorating the final speech of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Martin Luther King III speaks at the Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Martin Luther King III speaks at the Mason Temple on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. makes his last public appearance at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly, File)

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Brayden Pachal scored his first NHL goal of the season and added two assists on Sunday night as the Calgary Flames’ hot streak at home continued with a 4-1 victory over the Utah Mammoth.

Matt Coronato, Connor Zary and Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary, which is 7-0-1 in its last eight games at home. Dustin Wolf made 28 saves.

Lawson Crouse scored for Utah, which holds the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a three-point lead on the Los Angeles Kings, who have a game in hand.

Vitek Vanecek had 19 stops for Utah.

With both teams playing the second game of back-to-backs, it was Calgary that came out flying with Coronato giving the Flames a 1-0 lead at 7:06 of the first period. When Vanecek misplayed the puck behind his net after colliding with defenseman Ian Cole, Coronato grabbed the loose puck and tucked it into the vacated net.

After a dominant first period in which Calgary took a 2-0 lead and outshot the visitors 14-4, Utah played a better second period, but was unable to solve Wolf.

Among his stops was a key glove save on MacKenzie Weegar when the former Flames defenseman broke in from the blue line all alone.

While Clayton Keller had an assist to extend his point streak to eight games (four goals, 13 assists), Dylan Guenther (six goals, seven assists) and Mikhail Sergachev (zero goals, 12 assists) had their seven-game point streaks come to an end.

Coronato’s goal, which extended his point streak to five games (one goal, four assists), was his 100th NHL point. Rookie left-winger Aydar Suniev had an assist for his first NHL point.

Mammoth: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

Flames: The Colorado Avalanche are the visitors on Tuesday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Utah Mammoth's Michael Carcone, left, is checked by Calgary Flames' Zach Whitecloud during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Mammoth goalie Vitek Vanecek, centre, follows the puck as Calgary Flames' Matt Coronato, left, and Dmitri Simashev look on during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Mammoth goalie Vitek Vanecek, center, lets in a goal from Calgary Flames' Blake Coleman, right, as Sean Durzi looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Mammoth's Mikhail Sergachev, left, checks Calgary Flames' Joel Farabee during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Mammoth's Mikhail Sergachev, left, is checked by Calgary Flames' Blake Coleman during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)