7 Inspiring Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Reads

Each January, schools and offices close so that we may honor Martin Luther King. Jr., and the movement he gave his life to. Nearly two decades after his assassination, and after much public vilification, the civil rights leader was officially given a federal holiday commemorating his birth. While many of us welcome the time for rest, we aren’t always as consistent with using our day off from work as a day on for celebrating Black activists and scholars. These seven titles will help you dive deeper into all that King and his fellow organizers sacrificed to leave America more equitable than they received it.

Beyond Vietnam, by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before his assassination, King stood in a New York City pulpit and gave an impassioned speech that drew parallels between underspending on American life domestically and overspending on wars abroad. King called for a revolution of values. In the immediate aftermath, his speech was criticized, but his words ring true today as libraries, hospitals, and schools shut down due to lack of funding. Beyond Vietnam—this transcript of the speech—is a must-read for anyone interested in King’s devotion to nonviolence, racial justice, and economic equity. Our idea? Read it aloud with a friend or family member and spread the word.

My Song, by Harry Belafonte

Last year, the world lost civil rights icon and history-making artist Harry Belafonte, who shattered color barriers in film and broke records with his calypso music. But it was the EGOT winner’s relationship with King and long-term support for various social causes that set him apart from his fellow celebs. In this distinctive memoir, Belafonte shares stories from the front lines—stories about boarding planes with tens of thousands of dollars for civil rights organizations, rallying Hollywood support, and caring more about people than climbing ladders. It's a perfect reminder of the good in the world.

The Three Mothers, by Anna Malaika Tubbs

It is no accident that Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin all took on such influential roles within the civil rights movement. In this examination of their upbringing—aptly named The Three Mothers—Anna Malaika Tubbs reveals how these leaders were molded intellectually, socially, and politically by their powerful matriarchal examples. The hardship these mothers endured, the historical moments that molded each of them, and their contributions to the movement make for a fascinating look at how brilliance—and resilience—is nurtured within a family.

Until I Am Free, by Keisha N. Blain

While mainstream understanding of the civil rights era centers around Southern cities like Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, and Atlanta, rural Black people were at the forefront of the movement for racial and economic justice. Take the case of Fannie Lou Hamer, a sharecropper who in her 40s organized her way across the South. Most known for quotes like “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” or “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free,” Hamer dedicated her life to working-class Black people across the South. Here, Keisha N. Blain presents a well-researched and dynamic view of Hamer’s unapologetic advocacy for voting rights, land justice, and Black sovereignty.

Walking with the Wind, by John Lewis

Longtime United States Representative John Lewis served in Congress for over 30 years, following a courageous life of freedom rides, marches with King, and sit-ins. As a writer, he is best known for his graphic memoir March, but his more traditional memoir, Walking with the Wind, chronicles Lewis’s life before and after the fateful demonstration in Birmingham. Here, we come face-to-face with Alabama's clay roads, brutal law-enforcement repression and voter registration work throughout the ’60s and ’70s, and Lewis's resolve to end segregation. Inspiring.

Ella Baker & the Black Freedom Movement, by Barbara Ransby

Women of the civil rights movement often played integral roles—and yet received only a fraction of the credit and public praise of their male counterparts. This biography masterfully memorializes the life of Ella Baker, mother of the civil rights movement. Though her name is relatively unknown, Baker was a grassroots organizer often found at the center of the most effective civil rights organizations of her time including the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Feminist historian Barbara Ransby not only uncovers Baker’s influence on grassroots activism but also the struggle for Black women to be recognized as political leaders.

Waiting ’Til the Midnight Hour, by Peniel E. Joseph

The long-term impact of the civil rights era would not be possible without the actions and commitment of millions of everyday people whose names many of us will never know. In this remarkable book, Peniel E. Joseph brings several figures out of obscurity, such as foreign correspondent and journalist William Worthy, as well as activist James Meredith, who led the March Against Fear, the largest march in Mississippi history. Joseph also creates intimate portraits of those leaders whose names we do know—Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and Angela Davis. Written in vivid, almost novelistic chapters, this book exposes the way Black Power redefined the political culture.

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