|
|
|
Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day January 17, 2005 |
|
|
|
It took 15 years
to create the federal Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.
Congressman John Conyers first introduced legislation for
a commemorative holiday four days after King was assassinated
in 1968. After the bill became stalled, petitions endorsing
the holiday containing six million names were submitted
to Congress.
Conyers and Rep. Shirley Chisholm, resubmitted King holiday
legislation each subsequent legislative session. Public
pressure for the holiday mounted during the 1982 and 1983
civil rights marches in Washington.
Congress passed the holiday legislation in 1983, which was
then signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. A compromise
moving the holiday from January 15, King's birthday, which
was considered too close to Christmas and New Year's, to
the third Monday in January helped overcome opposition to
the law. |
| “In
the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but
the silence of our friends.” |
| —Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. |
| Featured
book |
TO
THE MOUNTAINTOP: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S SACRED MISSION
TO SAVE AMERICA by Stewart Burns |
| Burns was
one of four co-editors of a volume of King's writings,
so he knows his facts, and his admiration for his subject
in this biography is beyond question. Burns' book distinguishes
itself from past biographies by focusing on religion
and examining one fundamental insight: King truly believed
that there were forces both of good and evil and that
evil would triumph if the good stood idly by. Along
these lines, he saw the history of the United States
as an unfulfilled promissory note.--San Francisco
Chronicle – Best Books of 2004 |
| Adult
Books |
|
MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR. by Marshall Frady, 2002 [921
KIN]
This political biography interweaves the history of
the civil rights movement with King's rise to fame and
influence and includes fascinating insight into factions
within the movement itself. |
KING: THE PHOTOBIOGRAPHY
OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
by Charles Richard Johnson, 2000 [921 KIN]
This collection of black-and-white images, insightful
introduction, and 18 essays document the pivotal events
of Dr. King’s life and impact, from the Montgomery
Bus Boycott of 1955-56 to his funeral in 1968. |
| AMERICA
IN THE KING YEARS [2 volumes] by
Taylor Branch, 1988, 1998 [973.92 B] |
PARTING THE WATERS: AMERICA IN THE KING YEARS, 1954-63
This award winning chronicle is more than a
biography of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during
the decade preceding his emergence as a national figure.
Branch profiles the key players and events that helped
shape the American social landscape following World
War II and before the civil-rights movement of the 1960s
reached its climax. |
PILLAR
OF FIRE: AMERICA IN THE KING YEARS, 1963-64
The concluding volume provides a frank, revealing
portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr., haunted by blackmail,
factionalism, and hatred while he tried to hold the
nonviolent movement together as a dramatic force in
history. |
THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 1998
[ 921 KIN]
Using Stanford University's collection of archival
material, including previously unpublished writings,
interviews, recordings, and correspondence, King scholar
Clayborne Carson has constructed a first-person account
of an extraordinary life. |
THE
EYES ON THE PRIZE CIVIL RIGHTS READER, 1991[973.08
E]
This volume is one of several produced in conjunction
with the 14-part PBS Eyes on the Prize television series.
It is a collection of over 100 court decisions, speeches,
interviews, and other documents on the civil rights
movement from 1954 to 1990. |
|
Adult Media |
|
A
KNOCK AT MIDNIGHT : INSPIRATION FROM THE GREAT SERMONS
OF REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., 1998 [TAPE
252 K]
This unique collection of Dr. King’s sermons was
recorded at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church, and in other churches where he conducted his
ministry. |
THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
narrated by Levar Burton,, 1998
[TAPE 921 KIN]
The life and times of this Civil Rights leader, drawn
from a comprehensive collection of writings, recordings,
and documentary materials. |
MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR. by Marshall Frady, 2002 [TAPE
921 KIN]
An audio book version of Frady’s political biography.
|
A
CALL TO CONSCIENCE: THE LANDMARK SPEECHES OF DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR., 2001 [CD BOOK 921 KIN]
In his introduction, Andrew Young refers to Dr. King
as "the voice of the century," and this compilation
of 12 of King's greatest speeches deftly pays homage
to that powerful voice. They are prefaced by touching
and inspiring introductions written and read by prominent
activists, leaders and theologians, including the Dalai
Lama, Senator Edward Kennedy and others. |
SING
FOR FREEDOM: THE STORY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
THROUGH ITS SONGS, 1990 [CD P FOLK]
A freedom repertoire drawn from six Folkways documentaries
made between 1960 and 1964 in Alabama, Mississippi,
Georgia, and Tennessee |
MARTIN
LUTHER KING JR. THE MAN AND THE DREAM, 1997
[VID 921 KIN]
This A&E video biography traces Dr. King’s
early resistance to assuming a leadership role in the
civil rights movement. and how he ultimately came to
terms with it and even accepted the inevitability of
his martyrdom.
|
BOYCOTT,
2002 [FEATURE FILMS DVD BOY]
This made for cable drama recreates the 1955 bus boycott
that gave birth to the civil rights movements.
|
For
Children |
|
Two lovely introductions for very young children
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARTIN LUTHER KING by
Jean Marzollo, 1993 [JP-M] (K-3rd grade)
MARTIN’S
BIG WORDS: THE LIFE OF
DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING JR. by Doreen
Rappaport, 2001 [JP-R] (K–3rd grade)
|
Good
choices for beginning readers
MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR. AND THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
by Frances E. Ruffin. 2001. E J323.1 R. (Grades 1—3)
MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY by Linda Lowery,
1987 [E J921 KIN] (Grades 1—3) |
For older readers
MARTIN LUTHER KING,
JR. : MAN OF PEACE
by Pat McKissack, 2001 [J921 KING] (Grades 3—5)
MARTIN LUTHER KING. JR. : A MAN WITH A DREAM
by Jayne Pettit, 2001 [J921 KIN] (Grades 4—7)
I HAVE A DREAM by Martin Luther King
Jr., 1997 [J323.1 K]
Martin Luther King’s speech at Lincoln Memorial
illustrated by 15 award winning artists.
(Grades 4—8)
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
: DREAMS FOR A NATION by Louise Quayle,1990
[J921 KIN]
(Grades 5—8)
I HAVE A DREAM: THE LIFE
AND WORDS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. by James
Haskins, 1992 [J921 KIN] (Grades 5—9)
FREEDOM’S
CHILDREN by Ellen Levine, 1993 [J973.08 L]
Thirty African-Americans who were children during the
1950s and 1960s tell their true stories of what it was
like for them to fight segregation in the South. (Grades
6—12)
|
Spanish language books
UN LIBRO ILUSTRADO
SOBRE MARTIN
LUTHER KING, HIJO by David A. Adler, 1992
[SP J 921 KIN] (Grades 1—3)
MARTIN
LUTHER KING: EL GRAN LIDER DE LA NO VIOLENCIA EN QUE
MURIO EN DEFENSA DE LOS DERECHOS DE LOS NEGROS
by Valerie Schloredt, 1990 [SP J921 KIN] (Grades 4—7)
|
Readalongs
[books with audio tapes]
MARTIN LUTHER
KING DAY by Linda Lowery, 1987 [JREADA] (Grades
1—3)
A PICTURE BOOK OF MARTIN LUTHER
KING, JR. by David A. Adler, 1990 [JREADA]
(Grades 1—3) |
.
|
Click
here for a print copy of this
list |
Selected
by Marcia Elias, Atherton Library 2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
