Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A List of Books, Films & Music in Honor of Dr. King & the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 95 today. To honor his life and legacy, below are some recommended books, films and music celebrating Dr. King and many of his contemporaries in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

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Recommended Books for Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

The Radical King by Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Cornel West)

Purchase here.

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King: A Life by Jonathan Eig

Purchase here.

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Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision by Barbara Ransby

Purchase here.

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Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America by Keisha N. Blain

Purchase here.

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No Name in the Street by James Baldwin

Purchase here.

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The U.S. Civil Rights Movement: A Reading List (81 Titles)

The U.S. Civil Rights Movement: A Reading List

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Support Black-Owned Bookstores!

• Find a Black-Owned Bookstore Near You (divided by U.S. state) — 127 Black-Owned Bookstores in America That Amplify the Best in Literature (via Oprah Daily)

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Recommended Films for Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

Selma (2014) — directed by Ava DuVernay

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King in the Wilderness (2018) — directed by Peter Kunhardt

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Rustin (2023) — directed by George C. Wolfe

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The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (2022) — directed by Yoruba Richen & Johanna Hamilton

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My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021) — directed by Betsy West & Julie Cohen

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28 More Great Films for Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

• Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes (2023)

• Fannie Lou Hamer’s America (2022)

• Sidney (2022)

• Till (2022)

• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)

• The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021)

• One Night in Miami... (2020)

• John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020)

• Just Mercy (2019)

• The First Rainbow Coalition (2019)

• ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke (2019)

• Marshall (2017)

• Loving (2016)

• 13th (2016)

• Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise (2016)

• I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

• The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)

• Get On Up (2014)

• 42 (2013)

• Betty & Coretta (2013)

• The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (2013)

• Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2012)

• Sing Your Song: Harry Belafonte (2011)

• The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 (2011)

• Freedom Riders (2010)

• Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2003)

• Malcolm X (1992)

• Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement (1987-1990)

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Recommended Music for Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

'Nuff Said! by Nina Simone

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

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A Love Supreme by John Coltrane

Purchase on Vinyl

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We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite by Max Roach, featuring Abbey Lincoln, Coleman Hawkins & Babatunde Olatunji

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

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Montgomery Variations by Margaret Bonds, performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Kellen Gray

Purchase here.

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The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons by Christian McBride

Purchase or Stream

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Support Black-Owned Record Stores!

• Find a Black-Owned Record Store Near You — Digital Directory of Black-Owned Record Stores (compiled by Discogs)

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)