MLK Day 2026

Generations later, it’s too easy to miss Martin Luther King Jr.’s message; his distrust of the US political and economic systems, his intolerance of racism, militarism, and economic exploitation and to be swayed by the eloquent language found in his quotes, regardless how they’re positioned. That makes it so important to read Dr. King’s works in their entirety and to understand them in context.

With that in mind, I’ve built a King Day reading list to recommend books that are accessible to young readers that were written by Dr. King, and by those who worked alongside him.

Download them to read or listen to on the Libby App or Hoopla at no financial cost through your public library, or go to your local branch to borrow them. Read them and then decide which you’d like to add to your personal library.

I’m beginning the list with links to a few of his important speeches that are available online. Read or listen to then, and keep the passages that mean the most to you. Remember where they came from and Dr. King’s true intentions.

Beyond Vietnam, 1967 (audio) (text)
Give Us the Ballot, 1957 (audio) (text)
Letter From A Birmingham Jail,1963
The Three Evils of Society 1967

A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr., For Student
Introduction by Walter Dean Myers. Beacon Press, 2013.
Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis and Michael D’Orso. Simon & Schuster, 2015.
Freedom’s Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Stories by Ellen Levine. Penguin,
2000.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Adapted for Young People (ReVisioning History for Young People) by Brandy Colbert (Adapter), Jeanne Theoharis (Adapter, Author). Beacon
Press, 2021
King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South by Jeanne
Theoharis. The New Press, 2025.
Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin by Bayard Rustin. Cleis Press,
2023.

be well and do good

Filed under: Book List, Uncategorized