Martin Luther King Popular Books
Martin Luther King 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 Martin Luther King popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Martin Luther King books.
Best Seller Martin Luther King Books of 2024
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Martin Luther King Jr. Keep The Dream Alive.
McConnon's KidsMrs. McConnon’s first grade class shares information about the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
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Martin Luther King, Jr., on Leadership
Donald T. PhillipsRead the detailed and absorbing chronicle of Martin Luther King's leadership during the most tumultuous period in America's recent pastfeaturing a foreword by Dr. Bernice King.Mart...
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Go Set a Watchman
Harper Lee#1 New York Times Bestseller“Go Set a Watchman is such an important book, perhaps the most important novel on race to come out of the white South in decades." New York ...
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Reading Comprehension for 5th Grade - Martin Luther King Jr. Theme
Courseware Solutions IncReading Comprehension for 5th Grade Martin Luther King Jr. Theme is a collection of five stories about Martin Luther King Jr. for students in 4th to 6th grade. The stories include...
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Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.
James T. de KayLearn about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with this revised edition of the popular Random House Step Up(TM) Biography of the great civilrights leader and advocate for pe...
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Coming of Age in Mississippi
Anne MoodyThe unforgettable memoir of a woman at the front lines of the civil rights movementa harrowing account of black life in the rural South and a powerful affirmation of one person’s a...
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I am Martin Luther King, Jr.
Brad Meltzer & Christopher EliopoulosThe eighth biography in this New York Times bestselling series features one of America's greatest civil rights heroes, Martin Luther King, Jr. (Cover may vary)As a child,...
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Martin Luther King
Verna WilkinsMartin is a clever, happy child born in the south of the United States of America. As he grows up he becomes angry at the way black people are treated. Find out all about Martin Lu...
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The Butler
Wil HaygoodThis mesmerizing companion book to the awardwinning film, The Butler traces the Civil Rights Movement and explores crucial moments of twentieth century American history through the...
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What Truth Sounds Like
Michael Eric DysonNamed a 2018 Notable Work of Nonfiction by The Washington Post NOW A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Winner, The 2018 Southern Book Prize NAMED A BEST/MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2018 BY: ...
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1968
Mark KurlanskyIn this monumental new book, awardwinning author Mark Kurlansky has written his most ambitious work to date: a singular and ultimately definitive look at a pivotal moment in hist...
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Martin Luther King
Jonathan EigDie gefeierte, erste MLKBiografie seit Jahrzehnten und der NewYorkTimesBestseller Eines der 10 besten Sachbücher von 2023 (Time Magazine) »Best of the Best 2023« (Publisher's Weekl...
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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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The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Clayborne CarsonWith knowledge, spirit, good humor, and passion, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. brings to life a remarkable man whose thoughts and actions speak to our most burning...
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue
Various AuthorsIt is a biographical book. Many years ago, the few readers of radical Abolitionist papers must often have seen the singular name of Sojourner Truth, announced as a frequent speaker...
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Across That Bridge
John LewisWinner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work/Biography in paperback for the first time.In turbulent times Americans look to the Civil Rights Movement as the apoth...
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Nobody
Marc Lamont HillNamed a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus ReviewsA New York Times Editor’s ChoiceNautilus Award Winner“A worthy and necessary addition to the contemporary canon of civil rights liter...
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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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The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. & Clayborne CarsonA collection of the most wellknown and treasured writings and speeches of Dr. King, available for the first time as an ebookThe Essential Martin Luther King, Jr. is the ultimate co...
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Marshall Frady"a quick introduction to the life of a great American" The New York TimesAn inspiring portrait of the incredible life and lasting influence of Dr. Martin Luther KingMarshall Frady...
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Hellhound on His Trail
Hampton SidesNATIONAL BESTSELLEREdgar Award NomineeOne of the Best Books of the Year: O, The Oprah Magazine, Time, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, St. Louis PostDispatch, Sa...
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His Truth Is Marching On
Jon Meacham & John Lewis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An intimate and revealing portrait of civil rights icon and longtime U.S. congressman John Lewis, linking his life to the painful quest for justice in...
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Where Do We Go from Here
Martin Luther King Jr. & Vincent HardingIn 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., isolated himself from the demands of the civil rights movement, rented a house in Jamaica with no telephone, and labored over his final manusc...
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All About Martin Luther King Jr
McConnon's KidsThe first grade class at Mabel Hoggard Elementary School shares highlights of life of Martin Luther King Jr.
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The Man Who Had a Dream - Martin Luther King
Alan ConcannonThis short book covers the main aspects of Martin Luther King’s life and death fighting for Civil Rights in America. King studied and used many philosophies of the great writer Tol...
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The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.
David J. GarrowThe author of Bearing the Cross, the Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of Martin Luther King Jr., exposes the government’s massive surveillance campaign against the civil rights lea...
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The Radical King
Martin Luther King Jr. & Cornel WestA revealing collection that restores Dr. King as being every bit as radical as Malcolm X“The radical King was a democratic socialist who sided with poor and working people in the c...
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Cheri MerwinMartin Luther King Jr. still impacts our lives today. A class of second graders took the time to research, study, learn about this great leader. This is what they discovered about ...
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Tanya Savory"The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dedicated his life to bringing equal rights to African Americans through...
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Dear Martin
Nic Stone#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME After a traffic stop turns violent at the hands of the p...
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My Little Golden Book About Martin Luther King Jr.
Bonnie Bader & Sue CornelisonLearn all about Martin Luther King Jr. Day with this Little Golden Book biography all about the civil rights leader! The perfect introduction to nonfiction for preschoolers. Th...
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Martin Luther King
Ed ClaytonMartin Luther King devoted his life to helping people, first as a Baptist minister and scholar and later as the foremost leader in the AfricanAmerican civil rights movement. An org...
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Martin Luther King
50Minutos.esEste libro es una guía práctica y accesible para saber más sobre Martin Luther King, que le aportará la información esencial y le permitirá ganar tiempo.En tan solo 50 minutos, ust...
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I Am Not Your Negro
Velvet Films, Inc. & Raoul PeckNATIONAL BESTSELLER In his final years, one of America’s greatest writers envisioned a book about his three assassinated friends, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. ...
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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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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dharathula H. MillenderOne of the most popular series ever published for young Americans, these classics have been praised alike by parents, teachers, and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, fictio...
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Martin Luther King Jr.
AcadeMix“Sueño que un día, justo ahí en Alabama niños negros y niñas negras podrán darse la mano con niños blancos y niñas blancas, como hermanas y hermanos. Hoy tengo un sueño”…lo que com...
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Jon M. FishmanMartin Luther King Jr. was an influential and inspiring leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. His life, work, and death are brought to life for readers like n...
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The American Story
David M. RubensteinCofounder of The Carlyle Group and patriotic philanthropist David M. Rubenstein takes readers on a sweeping journey across the grand arc of the American story through revealing con...
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Martin Luther King
Verna Wilkins & Verna WilliamsEach title in this series tells the story of a man or woman whose dedication to their chosen cause led to changes that affect all our lives today. Each includes a vivid description...