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Martin Luther King, Jr. (Teen)

Celebrate MLK Day by reading one of these books to learn more about the life of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Learn about his accomplishments and legacy. These titles are for both teens and adults.

A time to break silence : the essential works of Martin Luther King, Jr. for students by Martin Luther King

A Time to Break Silence presents Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most important writings and speeches—carefully selected by teachers across a variety of disciplines—in an accessible and user-friendly volume. Now, for the first time, teachers and students will be able to access Dr. King's writings not only electronically but in stand-alone book form.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.

Chasing King's killer : the hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassin by James L Swanson

"James Earl Ray and Martin Luther King, Jr. had two very different life journeys -- but their paths fatally collide when Ray assassinates the world-renown civil rights leader. This book provides an inside look into both of their lives, the history of thetime, and a blow-by-blow examination of the assassination and its aftermath."--Provided by publisher.

Martin and Bobby : a journey toward justice by Claire Rudolf Murphy

"Martin and Bobby follows the lives and final days of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, showing how and where their work intersected and how their initially wary relationship evolved from challenging and testing one another to finally "arrivingin the same place" as allies fighting poverty and racism"--

1968 : today's authors explore a year of rebellion, revolution, and change

Fourteen authors share their perspectives on the changes that shaped 1968, including the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

The March Against Fear : the last great walk of the civil rights movement and the emergence of Black power by Ann Bausum

Explores the March Against Fear, a protest started by James Meredith and taken up by other civil rights leaders after Meredith was shot

Spies of Mississippi : the true story of the spy network that tried to destroy the civil rights movement by Rick Bowers

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission compiled secret files on more than 87,000 private citizens in the most extensive state spying program in U.S. history. Its mission: to save segregation

A dream of freedom : the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1968 by Diane McWhorter

Explores the sacrifices and triumphs of African Americans in their pursuit of social and political equality, and examines the often violent resistance they met from white Americans

All the days past, all the days to come by Mildred D Taylor

When she returns to her home in Mississippi after finishing law school, Cassie Logan becomes involved in voter registration drives and other aspects of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Stolen justice : the struggle for African-American voting rights by Lawrence Goldstone

"Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote? In a bitter partisan fight over the legislature and Constitution, the answer eventually became yes, though only after two constitutional amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, the impeachment of a president, and an army of occupation. Yet, even that was not enough to ensure that African American voices would be heard, or their lives protected. White supremacists loudly and intentionally prevented black Americans from voting -- and they were willing to kill to do so. In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African American vote, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow. Though this is a story of America's past, Goldstone brilliantly draws direct links to today's creeping threats to suffrage in this important and, alas, timely book"--

Accused! : the trials of the Scottsboro Boys : lies, prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment by Larry Dane Brimner

"In 1931, nine teenagers were arrested as they traveled on a train through Scottsboro, Alabama. The youngest was thirteen, and all had been hoping to find something better at the end of their journey. But they never arrived. Instead, two white women falsely accused them of rape. The effects were catastrophic for the young men, who came to be known as the Scottsboro Boys. Being accused of raping a white woman in the Jim Crow south almost certainly meant death, either by a lynch mob or the electric chair. The Scottsboro boys found themselves facing one prejudiced trial after another, in one of the worst miscarriages of justice in U.S. history. They also faced a racist legal system, all-white juries, and the death penalty. Noted Sibert Medalist Larry Dane Brimner uncovers how the Scottsboro Boys spent years in Alabama's prison system, enduring inhumane conditions and torture. The extensive back matter includes an author's note, bibliography, index, and further resources and source notes."--Amazon.

Trouble maker for justice : the story of Bayard Rustin, the man behind the March on Washington by Jacqueline Houtman

Bayard Rustin was a major figure in the Civil Rights movement. He was arrested on a bus 13 years before Rosa Parks and he participated in integrated bus rides throughout the South 14 years before the Freedom Riders. He was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., teaching him the techniques and philosophy of Gandhian nonviolent direct action. He organized the March on Washington in 1963, one of the most impactful mobilizations in American history.

We are not yet equal : understanding our racial divide by Carol (Carol Elaine) Anderson

From the end of the Civil War to the tumultuous issues in America today, an acclaimed historian reframes the conversation about race, chronicling the powerful forces opposed to black progress in America.

Twelve days in May : Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner

For twelve history-making days in May 1961, thirteen black and white civil rights activists, also known as the Freedom Riders, traveled by bus into the South to draw attention to the unconstitutional segregation still taking place. Despite their peaceful protests, the Freedom Riders were met with increasing violence the further south they traveled

March. Book 1 by John Lewis

A first-hand account of the author's lifelong struggle for civil and human rights spans his youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the birth of the Nashville Student Movement

March. Book 2 by John Lewis

Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, continues his award-winning graphic novel trilogy with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, inspired by a 1950s comic book that helped prepare his own generation to join the struggle. Now, March brings the lessons of history to vivid life for a new generation, urgently relevant for today’s world.

March. Book 3 by John Lewis

Welcome to the stunning conclusion of the award-winning and best-selling MARCH trilogy. Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one ofthe key figures of the civil rights movement, joins co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell to bring the lessons of history to vivid life for a new generation, urgently relevant for today's world.

Turning 15 on the road to freedom : my story of the 1965 Selma voting rights march by Lynda Blackmon Lowery

Shares the story of the youngest person to complete the Selma to Montgomery March, describing her frequent imprisonments for her participation in nonviolent demonstrations and how she felt about her involvement in Civil Rights events.

The Freedom Summer murders by Don Mitchell

Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the Freedom Summer murders, traces the events surrounding the KKK lynching of three young civil rights activists who were trying to register African Americans for the vote.

The rock and the river by Kekla Magoon

In 1968 Chicago, for thirteen-year-old Sam, it's not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older brother (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever. Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick's bed, he's not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend

Warriors don't cry : a searing memoir of the battle to integrate Little Rock's Central High by Melba Beals

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, brought the promise of integration to Little Rock, Arkansas, but it was hard-won for the nine black teenagers chosen to integrate Central High School in 1957. They ran a gauntlet flanked by a rampaging mob and a heavily armed Arkansas National Guard-opposition so intense that soldiers from the elite 101st Airborne Division were called in to restore order. For Melba Beals and her eight friends those steps marked their transformation into reluctant warriors-on a battlefield that helped shape the civil rights movement.Warriors Don't Cry, drawn from Melba Beals's personal diaries, is a riveting true account of her junior year at Central High-one filled with telephone threats, brigades of attacking mothers, rogue police, fireball and acid-throwing attacks, economic blackmail, and, finally, a price upon Melba's head. With the help of her English-teacher mother; her eight fellow warriors; and her gun-toting, Bible-and-Shakespeare-loving grandmother, Melba survived. And, incredibly, from a year that would hold no sweet-sixteen parties or school plays, Melba Beals emerged with indestructible faith, courage, strength, and hope

Martin Luther King, Jr. : a life by Marshall Frady

A biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., interweaves a history of the civil rights movement with King's rise to fame

The speech : the story behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream by Gary Younge

"Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his powerful "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963. Fifty years later, The Speech endures as a defining moment in the Civil Rights movement. It continues to be heralded as a beacon in the ongoing struggle for racial equality. This gripping book unearths the fascinating chronicle behind The Speech and the revealing events surrounding the march on Washington"--

The seminarian : Martin Luther King, Jr. comes of age by Patrick Parr

Martin Luther King Jr. was a cautious 19-year-old rookie preacher when he left Atlanta, Georgia, to attend seminary up north. Immediately at Crozer Theological Seminary, King, or "ML" back then, found that he was surrounded by a white staff and white professors. Even his dorm room had once been used by wounded Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.

What was the March on Washington? by Kathleen Krull

Describes the 1963 March on Washington, helmed by Martin Luther King, Jr., where over two hundred thousand people gathered to demand equal rights for all races, and explains why this event is still important in American history today

Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.? by Bonnie Bader

Profiles the civil rights leader, discussing his career as a pastor, his fight for African American rights, and his legacy

No crystal stair : a documentary novel of the life and work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem bookseller by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

A fictionalized biography of the bookseller and civil rights activist who owned the African National Memorial Bookstore in Harlem, New York City.

Stamped : racism, antiracism, and you by Jason Reynolds

"A history of racist and antiracist ideas in America, from their roots in Europe until today, adapted from the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning"--

Brave. Black. First. : 50+ African American women who changed the world by Cheryl Willis Hudson

Profiles notable African American women in various fields from Phillis Wheatley, Harriet Tubman, and Ida B. Wells to Condoleeza Rice, Beyoncae, and the founders of Black Lives Matter.

The lions of Little Rock by Kristin (Kristin Sims) Levine

In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration, but her friendship with Liz, a new student, helps her find her voice and fight against racism.

We've got a job : the 1963 Birmingham Children's March by Cynthia Levinson

Discusses the events of the four thousand African American students who marched to jail to secure their freedom in May 1963.

Claudette Colvin : twice toward justice by Phillip M Hoose

Presents the life of the Alabama teenager who played an integral role in the Montgomery bus strike, once by refusing to give up a bus seat, and again, by becoming a plaintiff in the landmark civil rights case against the bus company.

Recipient of the National Medal, the nation's highest honor for libraries.