8 Great MLK Day Books For Every Kind of Reader

Freedom’s Daughters, by Lynne Olson
A riveting historical account of the women who were pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks wasn’t its only heroine—there are countless women who made it happen alongside her. Over sixty individualized accounts of women activists are collected in this book, from famous figures like Ida B. Wells and Fannie Lou Hamer to the unrecognized mothers, wives, and daughters who each played a part in shaping civil rights history.

Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954–63, by Taylor Branch
Branch’s trilogy, America in the King Years, provides the most comprehensive reading on King’s legacy in the United States. Parting the Waters, the first in the trilogy, won a Pulitzer for its depiction of the nation between 1954 and 1963. History buffs will appreciate that Branch’s trilogy meticulously covers all the moving parts of the era and references events occurring elsewhere in the world to add nuance to the events at hand.
For young readers:

The Watsons Go to Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis
This award-winning historical fiction novel centers on a 10-year old boy, Kenny Watson, and his family’s experience with the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The Watsons journey from Flint, Michigan, to Birmingham, Alabama, in the summer of 1963 to visit Grandma Sands and to straighten out Kenny’s delinquent older brother, Byron. They are there when the bombing occurs, and must deal with the aftermath.

Through My Eyes, by Ruby Bridges
In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first black child to attend an all-white public school in the South. Escorted by federal marshals through throngs of protesters on the first court-ordered day of school integration, Bridges’ courage has inspired many iconic images, books, movies, and songs. Through My Eyes is an autobiography written in the voice of her six-year-old self, recalling the day-by-day ordeal through which she changed a nation.
For fans of historical fiction:

Freshwater Road, by Denise Nicholas
This eye-opening novel by actress and activist Denise Nicholas centers on Celeste Tyree, a University of Michigan student who travels to the small town of Pineyville, Mississippi, to register voters in 1964—Freedom Summer. In a town with a brutal history, Celeste navigates oppression, violence, and resistance to change, all while finding the courage to lead the community to stand for their voting rights.

A Taste of Honey, by Jabari Asim
A poignant and incisive collection of interconnected short stories depicting the 1968 experiences of a tight-knit black community. Gateway City may be a fictional Midwestern town, but the love, violence, and turmoil experienced by its inhabitants during the social upheaval of the late ’60s is captivatingly real.
For those seeking words of inspiration:

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson
Not an autobiography exactly, but the story of Martin Luther King, Jr., in his own words nonetheless. History professor Clayborne Carson constructed this first-person account of King’s life from Stanford University’s archived collection of King’s writings, correspondences, recordings, and interviews. This compilation of everything King said or wrote throughout his life portrays him in multiple dimensions and reveals the man behind the icon.

A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard
Every year on this day, excerpts of King’s famous words are widely remembered and shared.  We all know “I have a dream,” but do we know the know the power of King’s seminal speech in its entirety? A Call to Conscience offers some of King’s most inspiring speeches from beginning to end, including “I Have a Dream” and his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.  Each of King’s orations are coupled with moving commentary from other great world leaders, activists, and icons, including Rosa Parks and the Dalai Lama. It’s the perfect read for a day of remembrance.