Dr Martin Luther King Jr Popular Books
Dr Martin Luther King Jr Biography & Facts
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Christian minister, activist, and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. A black church leader and a son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr., King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination. King participated in and led marches for the right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and other civil rights. He oversaw the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and later became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the SCLC, he led the unsuccessful Albany Movement in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize some of the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King was one of the leaders of the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and helped organize two of the three Selma to Montgomery marches during the 1965 Selma voting rights movement. The civil rights movement achieved pivotal legislative gains in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The SCLC put into practice the tactics of nonviolent protest with some success by strategically choosing the methods and places in which protests were carried out. There were several dramatic standoffs with segregationist authorities, who frequently responded violently. King was jailed several times. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover considered King a radical and made him an object of the FBI's COINTELPRO from 1963 forward. FBI agents investigated him for possible communist ties, spied on his personal life, and secretly recorded him. In 1964, the FBI mailed King a threatening anonymous letter, which he interpreted as an attempt to make him commit suicide. On October 14, 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. In his final years, he expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War. In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People's Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was convicted of the assassination, though the King family believes he was a scapegoat; the assassination remains the subject of conspiracy theories. King's death was followed by national mourning, as well as anger leading to riots in many U.S. cities. King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2003. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a holiday in cities and states throughout the United States beginning in 1971; the federal holiday was first observed in 1986. Hundreds of streets in the U.S. have been renamed in his honor, and King County in Washington was rededicated for him. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 2011. Early life and education Birth Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta; he was the second of three children born to Michael King Sr. and Alberta King (née Williams). Michael Jr. had an older sister, Christine King Farris, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel "A. D." King. Alberta's father, Adam Daniel Williams, was a minister in rural Georgia, moved to Atlanta in 1893, and became pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in the following year. Williams married Jennie Celeste Parks. Michael Sr. was born to sharecroppers James Albert and Delia King of Stockbridge, Georgia; he was of African-Irish descent. As an adolescent, Michael Sr. left his parents' farm and walked to Atlanta, where he attained a high school education, and enrolled in Morehouse College to study for entry to the ministry. Michael Sr. and Alberta began dating in 1920, and married on November 25, 1926. Until Jennie's death in 1941, their home was on the second floor of Alberta's parents' Victorian house, where King was born. Shortly after marrying Alberta, Michael King Sr. became assistant pastor of the Ebenezer church. Senior pastor Williams died in the spring of 1931 and that fall Michael Sr. took the role. With support from his wife, he raised attendance from six hundred to several thousand. In 1934, the church sent King Sr. on a multinational trip, one of the stops on the trip was Berlin for the Congress of the Baptist World Alliance [BWA]). He also visited sites in Germany which are associated with the Reformation leader Martin Luther. In reaction to the rise of Nazism, the BWA made a resolution saying, "This Congress deplores and condemns as a violation of the law of God the Heavenly Father, all racial animosity, and every form of oppression or unfair discrimination toward the Jews, toward colored people, or toward subject races in any part of the world." After returning home in August 1934, Martin Sr. changed his name to Martin Luther King Sr. and his five-year-old son's name to Martin Luther King Jr. Early childhood At his childhood home, Martin King Jr. and his two siblings read aloud the Bible as instructed by their father. After dinners, Martin Jr.'s grandmother Jennie, whom he affectionately referred to as "Mama" told lively stories from the Bible. Martin Jr.'s father regularly used whippings to discipline his children, sometimes having them whip each other. Martin Sr. later remarked, "[Martin Jr.] was the most peculiar child whenever you whipped him. He'd stand there, and the tears would run down, and he'd never cry." Once, when Martin Jr. witnessed his brother A.D. emotionally upset his sister Christine, he took a telephone and knocked A.D. unconcious with it. When Martin Jr. and his brother were playing at their home, A.D. slid from a banister and hit Jennie, causing her to fall unresponsive. Martin Jr. believing her dead, blamed himself and attempted suicide by jumping from a second-story window, but rose from the ground after hearing that she was alive. Martin King Jr. became friends with a white boy whose father owned a business across the street from his home. In September 1935, when the boys were about six years old, they started school. King had to attend a school for black children, Yonge Street Elementary School, while his playmate went to a separate school for white children only. Soon afterwards, the parents of the white boy stopped allowing King to play with their son, stating to him, "we are white, and you are colored". When King relayed this to his parents, they talked with him about the history of slavery and racism in America, which King would later say made him "determined to hate every white person". .... Discover the Dr Martin Luther King Jr popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Dr Martin Luther King Jr books.
Best Seller Dr Martin Luther King Jr Books of 2024
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Why Destiny Summoned These Three Orators Center Stage
Betty KnightThis book was written based on Betty Knights ability to balance and critically analyze three of these orators speeches made during three different eras of American history. Her in...
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Redemption
Joseph RosenbloomAn “immersive, humanizing, and demystifying” look at the final hours of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life as he seeks to revive the nonviolent civil rights movement and push to end po...
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Seeking the Common Good through Public Policy
Gary E. MaringThe concept of “the common good” is central to many religious faiths and goes hand in hand with the Golden Rule of doing unto others as we would want done unto ourselves. Gary E. M...
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Stormy Roads We Trod
Artie WoodingtonThis is a comparison of; unjust laws suffered by my Greatgrand parents, grandparents, and parents, the unfair treatments they suffered during their lives, what I experienced in my ...
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Ethics
Gordon MarinoIn Ethics: The Essential Writings, philosopher Gordon Marino skillfully presents an accessible, provocative anthology of both ancient and modern classics on matters moral. The phil...
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There Was a Party for Langston
Jason ReynoldsA Caldecott Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor BookNew York Times bestselling and awardwinning author Jason Reynolds’s debut picture book is a snappy, joyous ode to ...
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Great Speeches by African Americans
James DaleyTracing the struggle for freedom and civil rights across two centuries, this anthology comprises speeches by Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, W. E. B. Du Bois, Martin Luther Ki...
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A Call to Conscience
Clayborne Carson, Kris Shepard & Andrew YoungA powerful collection of the most essential speeches from famed social activist and key civil rights figure Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This companion volume to A Knock At Midnigh...
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The Ways of White Folks
Langston HughesA collection of vibrant and incisive short stories depicting the sometimes humorous, but more often tragic interactions between Black people and white people in America in the 1920...
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They Were Soldiers
Joseph L. Galloway & Marvin J. WolfThey Were Soldiers showcases the inspiring true stories of 49 Vietnam veterans who returned home from the "lost war" to enrich America's present and future...
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The Speech
Gary YoungeIn this “slim but powerful book,” the awardwinning journalist shares the dramatic story surrounding MLK’s most famous speech and its importance today (Boston Globe).On August 28, 1...
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Mrs. McConnon'sMrs. McConnon’s first grade class shares information about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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How Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rejected the Christian Doctrines
Be ScofieldIn this fascinating essay Dr. King scholar Be Scofield explores Dr. King's liberal theological interpretation of the Christian doctrines. King is best known for being a Baptist min...
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Dancing in the Darkness
Otis Moss IIIA “deeply spiritual and socially radical” (Dr. Obery Hendricks, PhD) guide to uplift our spirits as we work for justice in these politically turbulent timesfrom Reverend Otis Moss,...
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Lord I Want To Be A Christian
Bishop John R. StevensonLord I Want To Be A Christian Romans 1:16, Kjv: says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew...
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Kingonomics
Rodney SampsonWhile most know of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sweeping dream of equality and freedom for all, what many do not realize is just how keenly focused he was on economic issues, parti...
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Margaret McNamaraMrs. Connor's students honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with their own dreams and hopes in this Level 1 ReadytoRead!The class imagines how to make the world a better place in this ...
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Behind the Dream
Clarence B. Jones & Stuart Connelly"I have a dream." When those words were spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, the crowd stood, electrified, as Martin Luther King, Jr. brought the plight ...
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When Harlem Nearly Killed King
Hugh PearsonWhen Harlem Nearly Killed King spins the tale of a littleknown episode in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. how, in 1958, King was stabbed by a deranged black woman in Harlem...
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The Fight for Equal Opportunity
Willie JacksonAbout the Book The Fight for Equal Opportunity: Blacks in America chronicles African American leadership in modern times, focusing on two of the most magnetic and essential figures...
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The Philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Robert T. Floyd Jr.The speeches and sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. resound deeply, delivering the inspiring message of a great leader and teacher. These timeless gems leave the reader with ren...
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From Moses to the Joshua Generation
James C. RollinsThe forty year African American journey through America's Social Wilderness beginning with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, and ending with the Electio...
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Our God Is Marching On
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech "Our God Is Marching On,” part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins.At the end of the ...
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The Life of Peace Apostle Harcourt Klinefelter
Harcourt KlinefelterAs a young man, Harcourt "Harky" Klinefelter became involved in the US's civil rights movement of the 1960s. He was at the right place at the right timethe Selma March ...
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Social Struggle Through Non Violence With Reference To the Life and Work Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Manuel SundarThis book explains how the Philosophy of Non Violence is created by Mahatma Gandhi and used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to fight against the racism in USA. It also explains ...
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Lift as You Climb
Patricia Hruby PowellLearn about the civil rights activist Ella Baker in this inspiring picture book from Sibert Honor winner Patricia Hruby Powell and Caldecott Honor winner R. Gregory Christie.“What ...
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Death of a King
David Ritz & Tavis SmileyA revealing and dramatic chronicle of the twelve months leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. Martin Luther King, Jr. died in one of the most shocking assassin...
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King Me
Clinnesha D. SibleyA trio of short dramas set in the South and spanning 1968 to the present, King Me features compelling characters and relevant themes that examine our ongoing understanding of Dr. M...
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Beyond Vietnam
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.With a new foreword by Viet Thanh NguyenA beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech "Beyond Vietnam,” part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by ...
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The Power of Thought
Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr.America has changed much since that day in December 1955 when African Americans in Alabama formed the Montgomery Improvement Association and elected Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. its ...
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The Speech
Gary Younge<p>Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his powerful “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. Sixty years later, the speech endures as a defining moment in...
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Be a King
Carole Boston WeatherfordWith poetic text and dynamic art, awardwinning creators Carole Boston Weatherford and James E. Ransome use key moments from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life to inspire future ...
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Misremembering Dr. King
Jennifer J. YancoWe all know the name. Martin Luther King Jr., the great American civil rights leader. But most people today know relatively little about King, the campaigner against militarism, ma...