National Civil Rights Museum Adds Bayard Rustin Exhibit

National Civil Rights Museum Photo: Shutterstock
By Vanessa Orr
Posted February 4, 2025
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. Now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum, this historic structure not only immortalizes this unforgettable moment in time but showcases more than 400 years of African American history.
Looking much the same today as it did back then—down to the vintage cars parked in front—the motel, which was one of the few that would admit Black patrons, was saved from foreclosure to become America’s first Civil Rights museum in 1991. Visitors can stand roughly 200 feet from Room 306, where King was making his speech when the shot rang out. King’s assassination is marked by a wreath on the motel balcony, and plaques in front of the teal-and-yellow building tell the story.
Inside the museum, visitors can learn more about African Americans’ fights for equal rights, a struggle which was—and sometimes still is—a harrowing experience. In addition to seeing the suite where Martin Luther King, Jr. spent his final hours, the museum contains the bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, as well as the Freedom Riders Greyhound coach which members of the Ku Klux Klan burned.
Exhibits cover a range of difficult yet important topics, including slavery, Jim Crow laws, boycotts, racial violence and more, all of which are even more important to understand in the context of today’s political climate. Moving, empowering, and at times horrifying, the National Civil Rights Museum provides an illuminating look into both the history and possible future of race relations.

Lorraine Motel Photo: Shutterstock
Speaking Truth to Power: The Life of Bayard Rustin
The museum recently acquired the archive of Bayard Rustin, a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement and a lifelong advocate for nonviolence, human rights and equality. On March 28, 2025, Speaking Truth to Power: The Life of Bayard Rustin will open in the State of Tennessee Gallery, celebrating Rustin’s life as both a public leader and private individual.
According to Dr. Russ Wigginton, president of the National Civil Rights Museum, this exhibition provides more than a tribute to Bayard Rustin’s achievements. “It is a testament to his enduring message of justice, dialogue, and nonviolence that continues to resonate today,” he explained.
Known as a brilliant and forward-thinking civil rights activist, Rustin planned the “Journey of Reconciliation” in 1947, which would be used as a model for the Freedom Rides of the 1960s. Intended to test the U.S. Supreme Court’s ban on racial discrimination in interstate travel, these rides resulted in the arrest of Rustin for violating state laws regarding segregated seating on public transportation. As a result, he served 22 days on a chain gang.
A mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., Rustin played a major part in the burgeoning civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. As an openly gay man, however, he most often worked behind-the-scenes. It wasn’t until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that Rustin began focusing more on human rights and the gay rights movement. In the 1970s and 1980s he worked as a human rights and election monitor for Freedom House and also testified on behalf of New York State’s Gay Rights Bill. Rustin died in 1987 at the age of 75.

MLK Plaque at Lorraine Motel Photo: Vanessa Orr
A Look Inside Rustin’s Personal and Professional Life
The exhibit allows visitors to view Rustin’s passports, visas and drivers’ licenses that document his global commitment to nonviolence over four decades. Additionally, his notes for a March on Washington for Equal Rights will be available for viewing. Other displays include “Don’t Join Jim Crow Army” buttons and telegrams from key historical events.
Personal items include African sculptures, early Christian and Byzantine art, and folk art from Rustin’s childhood in West Chester, PA. Intimate memorabilia such as letters, jewelry and personal gifts provided by Rustin’s life partner, Walter Naegle, add to the display.
The exhibit also features fine art photography by David Katzenstein, capturing over 200 artifacts from Rustin’s personal and professional life. The exhibit, curated by art historian and educator Gay Feldman, will run through the end of the year. In 2026, selected items will be permanently housed in the newly renovated Legacy building, becoming a cornerstone of the museum’s offerings.
In order to best see the new exhibit and full museum, timed entry tickets, which can be ordered online, are advised. The museum is open every day except Tuesday, and a typical visit takes about two hours. Visit www.civilrightsmuseum.org to order tickets or learn more.