MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man with deep ties to the city and its history is celebrating a remarkable milestone — his 100th birthday.
Family and friends gathered Sunday, June 14, to honor Charlie Payne Jr., better known as C.P. Payne, as he marked a century of life.
Born and raised in Hernando, Mississippi, Payne moved to Memphis in the early 1940s. Over the years, he built a life of service and dedication, spending 51 years working for Phelps Security Service after an earlier career as a cab driver.
Payne also took part in some of the city’s most significant moments. He marched alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and supported Memphis sanitation workers during the historic 1968 sanitation strike…