MLK bench to be displayed at Museum of the American Revolution

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The jailhouse bench where Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous "letter from a Birmingham jail" has arrived at the Museum of the American Revolution.

One may wonder, what does this piece of history from the Civil Rights Era have to do with the American Revolution?

It's a question the museum is hoping to answer with an exhibit opening later this year, showing that the fight for freedom and equality spans centuries in America.

"This is juxtaposition. A pairing meant to be thought-provoking," said Matthew Skic.

Skic is a senior curator at the museum, where the iconic metal bench arrived earlier this month.

"This bench is an artifact of that moment in which Martin Luther King Jr. is wrestling with his critics," said Skic.

"The action of Jefferson declaring the sovereignty of a new nation. It was making a rights statement in the equality of men, and MLK in 1963 is still struggling to change those same issues for expanding those rights for Americans, particularly Black Americans," he adds.

The two iconic seats are part of the museum's major exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

The piece will be on view for the exhibit's entire run from October 18 of this year through January 3, 2027.