7 Books To Honor Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr, among many phenomenal civil rights leaders and advocates of his time, shifted the world as we know it and contributed to a better and more understanding society, especially regarding the various differences we naturally share as human beings. Here are seven books we’ve chosen to honor MLK’s legacy and birthday this January 15th!

Books To Honor Martin Luther King Jr.

• THE SEMINARIAN: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COMES OF AGE By Patrick Parr
• KING: A LIFE BY Jonathan Eig 
• MY UNCLE MARTIN’S BIG HEART By Angela Farris Watkins
• THE THREE MOTHERS: HOW THE MOTHERS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., MALCOLM X AND JAMES BALDWIN SHAPED A NATION By Anna Malaika Tubbs
• DEAR MARTIN By Nic Stone
• MY LIFE WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. By Coretta Scott King

THE SEMINARIAN: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COMES OF AGE By Patrick Parr

THE SEMINARIAN tells the story of a much younger Martin Luther King Jr. and his experiences at Crozer Theological Seminary between the years 1948 and 1951. The story highlights a stark contrast to the Dr. King who later became known for his civil rights activism.

But everyone has some form of an origin story and must rise from humble beginnings to step into their true power, and King’s path was no different. Patrick Parr does an incredible job at piecing together the parts of younger King often unseen by the general public and telling that complex story through the witnessed accounts of former peers of his and connecting them into a book about the wildness of youth, companionship and determining what matters in life.

MY UNCLE MARTIN’S BIG HEART By Angela Farris Watkins, PhD

Watkins, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., tells this story of her amazing uncle through her younger self. Here, readers are given a simpler and more candid description of King and the influence he leaves on the people around him, including Angela. Young readers will enjoy this picture book as an introduction to Dr. King and his work.

DEAR MARTIN By Nic Stone

Atlanta high-schooler Justyce McAllister, top achiever in his entire class, seems to have his life on track for success as he prepares for college. That changes in an instant when he’s physically assaulted and arrested by the cops. As a result of his mistreatment, he begins a series of letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., asking himself the questions he believes the prominent civil rights leader would have answers to, were he in Justyce’s time period.

As more events take place throughout the story, Justyce grapples with being Black and male in America and the very nuanced bias that comes as a result of that. A powerful debut inspired by the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Jordan Davis and as a dedication to her Black sons, Nic Stone’s DEAR MARTIN is one to stand the test of time and should be read all year, every year.

MY LIFE WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. By Coretta Scott King

There is no one better, perhaps, than Dr. King’s number one confidante to share his story through her own perspective. In this memoir by renown activist herself and widow of Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King unfolds a vivid picture of the life she shared with her husband, a behind-the-scenes look at the culmination of his ideas for speeches and other writings, the dynamics of the freedom movement and its relations and at times interferences with family life, along with much more.

STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM: THE MONTGOMERY STORY By Martin Luther King Jr.

Truly, it’s only appropriate that we end this list and honor Dr. King directly by choosing one of his own works as our last title. King wrote STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM following the Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama – a state heavily segregated and inundated with Jim Crow rhetoric at the time – and recounts not only the detailed points in his memory of before and after the boycott, but the various influences the surrounding community played in the events of said boycott being carried out as it was. King reflects on his own influences as well through studying the works of noted scholars such as Henry David Thoreau, Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and others.

Conclusion

These are just a few of many books on Martin Luther King Jr. that deeply showcase the legacy he left behind during his almost forty years on earth. These seven book recommendations can be read on his birthday in his honor, or anytime of the year. We hope you enjoy!

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