We hope you will join us for our special virtual events that pay tribute to the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
We also have suggestions below for great books and movies about Dr. King, and a special surprise from our Queens Memory team!
All Queens Public Library locations will be closed on Monday, January 17 for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Queens Memory: Martin Luther King, Jr. at Queens College
Book Picks for Teens and Adults
NEW: Queens Memory: Martin Luther King, Jr. at Queens College
A new addition to the QPL archives! Listen to audio clips from the inaugural John F. Kennedy Lecture Series speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr. on May 13, 1965, at Queens College, City University of New York.
Special Events
NEW: Ralph McDaniels’ All Vinyl 45s Hip Hop and Soul Brunch (January 15)
Watch the replay of the MLK Weekend edition of QPL Hip Hop Coordinator Ralph McDaniels' Instagram Live DJ set.
***
NEW: Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration: Freedom Fighters (January 15)
Watch the replay of this dramatic performance.
***
NEW: Culture Connection: A Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration in Words and Music with Charles Duke (January 14)
Watch the replay of this concert.
***
Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Brochure
Pick up this special brochure at Mitchell-Linden Library (31-32 Union Street in Flushing) featuring suggested activities that you can do to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy.
***
Dr. Martin Luther King Scavenger Hunt
Tuesday, January 11 through Friday, January 21
Join us for this trivia scavenger hunt at Richmond Hill Library (118-14 Hillside Avenue).
***
Film Screening: "Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom"
Wednesday, January 12, 7pm
This musical drama is based on the award-winning memoir by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, which tells her inspiring, true story as the youngest person to walk all the way from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in the Voting Rights March in 1965. Learn More & Join Us
***
MLK Collaborative Poster
Thursday, January 13 and Friday, January 14
Help us create this poster at Richmond Hill Library (118-14 Hillside Avenue).
***
Grab and Go MLK Jr. Activities for Families
Thursday, January 13 and Friday, January 14, 2:30pm
You can pick up these grab-and-go kits at Cambria Heights Library (218-13 Linden Boulevard).
***
“I Have a Dream” Activity
Thursday, January 13, 4:30pm
Join us for this activity at Richmond Hill Library (118-14 Hillside Avenue).
***
Martin Luther King Jr. Book Club: “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?”
Friday, January 14, 11am
Join Cambria Heights Library for this virtual book discussion.
***
Culture Connection: A Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration in Words and Music with Charles Duke
Friday, January 14, 7pm
Award-winning singer-songwriter and composer Charles Duke will explore the impact and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through storytelling and song. Watch live on our Facebook page.
***
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration: Freedom Fighters
Saturday, January 15, 12pm
The East Harlem Repertory Theater will present their “Freedom Fighters” dramatic performance in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Watch live on our Facebook page.
***
What is Your Dream? Post-it Wall
Tuesday, January 18
"So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream." What is your dream for a better future? Share it with Cambria Heights Library (218-13 Linden Boulevard) all day long on their Post-it wall.
***
When Art Speaks: Louis Armstrong and Civil Rights
Wednesday, January 19, 7pm
During his lifetime, Louis Armstrong was lauded as a brilliant trumpeter and vocalist, but behind his smiling "Satchmo" stage persona, he was also a major civil rights pioneer. In this multimedia presentation, Ricky Riccardi, Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum, will share rare images, audio and video to explain how Armstrong broke down barriers for his race throughout his career, including putting his career on the line to speak out against injustice during the Little Rock school integration crisis in 1957. Learn More & Join Us
***
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Bilingual Stories in English & Chinese 中英文故事會：馬丁路德金的故事
Friday, January 21, 3:30pm
In this program for children ages 5 and under, Ms. Janice, the early learning assistant at Flushing Library, will tell stories about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his famous speech “I Have a Dream,” and discuss other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement like Rosa Parks. Learn More & Join Us
***
When Art Speaks: Shades of Truth Theatre presents “Different Kind of King”
Wednesday, January 26, 7pm
We pay tribute to the young Dr. King who burst onto the scene as the leader of the successful 1955 Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, the first king. His voice stirred a nation to action in his “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington, the second king. Then the King who believed we had integrated into a burning building and boldly denounced the Vietnam War on April 4, 1967 and was assassinated one year later on April 4, 1968, the last king! Register & Join Us
OverDrive eBooks
Check out our list of eBooks for kids, teens, and adults about Dr. King on OverDrive.
Book Picks for Kids
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. (foreword by Coretta Scott King; paintings by fifteen Coretta Scott King Award and Honor Book artists)
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. (illustrated by Kadir Nelson)
The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. (selected by Coretta Scott King)
A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler and Robert Casilla
My First Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr. by Marion Dane Bauer and Jamie Smith
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Voice for Equality! by James Buckley, Jr. and Youneek Studios
Free at Last! by Angela Bull
The Cart that Carried Martin by Eve Bunting and Don Tate
Martin Luther King: the Peaceful Warrior by Ed Clayton and Donald Bermudez
Child of the Civil Rights Movement by Raúl Colón and Paula Yong Shelton
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan and R. Gregory Christie
We March by Shane W. Evans
My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris and Chris Soentpiet
March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Christine King Farris and London Ladd
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Josh Gregory
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil Rights Leader by Grace Hansen
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by Lisa M. Herrington
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Kitson Jazynka
Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?: A Who Was? Board Book by Lisbeth Kaiser and Stanley Chow
My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Martin Luther King III and AG Ford
1963 March on Washington (Protest! March for Change) by Joyce Markovicks
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo and Brian J. Pinkney
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial: A Stone of Hope by Joanne Mattern
I Am Brave: A Little Book about Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos
I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos
The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore and Amy Wummer
Dream March: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the March on Washington by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Sally Wern Comport
The Life and Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Ira Peck
Martin Rising: Requiem for a King by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fighting for Civil Rights by Christine Platt & David Shepard
Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Lucia Raatma
Martin Luther King...and the Fight for Equality by Sarah Ridley
Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford and James Ransome
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein and Jerry Pinkney
Book Picks for Teens and Adults
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.
I Have a Dream and Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Trumpet of Conscience by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Companion (selected by Coretta Scott King)
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. (selected by Coretta Scott King)
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson)
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson) (CD Audiobook)
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson and Peter Holloran)
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson and Peter Holloran) (CD Audiobook)
A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard)
A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr. for Students (introduction by Walter Dean Myers)
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches (edited by James Melvin Washington)
I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World (edited by James Melvin Washington)
The Radical King (edited by Cornel West)
My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King and Barbara Reynolds
My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King and Barbara Reynolds (CD Audiobook)
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Perspectives on Modern World History) by Noah Berlatsky
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Valerie Bodden
The King Years by Taylor Branch
Burial for a King by Rebecca Burns
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Encyclopedia by Clayborne Carson
Waking from the Dream by David L. Chappell
Waking from the Dream by David L. Chappell (eBook)
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Jacqueline Ching
April 4, 1968 by Michael Eric Dyson
April 4, 1968 by Michael Eric Dyson (CD Audiobook)
I See the Promised Land by Arthur Flowers and Manu Chitrakar
Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life by Marshall Frady
An American Death by Gerold Frank
The Life and Death of Martin Luther King, Jr. by James Haskins
Becoming King by Troy Jackson
Life Magazine: Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. by Charles Johnson and Bob Adelman
My Time with the Kings by Kathryn Johnson
The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. by Peniel E. Joseph
Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election by Stephen Kendrick & Paul Kendrick
Kennedy and King by Steven Levingston
March: Book One, Book Two, and Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Routledge Historical Biographies) by Peter J. Ling
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery
The Murkin Conspiracy by Philip H. Melanson
Orders to Kill by William F. Pepper
Killing the Dream by Gerald Posner
Who Killed Martin Luther King? by James Earl Ray
Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation by Jonathan Rieder
Redemption: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Last 31 Hours by Joseph Rosenbloom
Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides
Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides (CD Audiobook)
King: Pilgrimage to the Mountaintop by Harvard Sitkoff
Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Year by Tavis Smiley
Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Year by Tavis Smiley (eBook)
Chasing King's Killer by James L. Swanson
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Let Freedom Ring by Michael Teitelbaum and Lewis Helfand
Martin Luther King, Jr.: A King Family Tribute by Angela Farris Watkins and Andrew Young
Killing King: Racial Terrorists, James Earl Ray, and the Plot to Assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. by Stuart Wexler and Larry Hancock
Movie Picks
4 Little Girls (1997)
All The Way (2016)
Been to the Mountaintop (2006)
Betty & Coretta (2013)
Boycott (2001, PG)
The Cart that Carried Martin (2013)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective (1994)
Freedom on My Mind (1994)
History Kids: Martin Luther King, Jr. (2018)
I Am Not Your Negro (2016, PG-13)
In Remembrance of Martin (1986)
King (1978)
King: Man of Peace in a Time of War (2007)
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013, PG-13)
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
King in the Wilderness (2018)
The March (2013, TV-PG)
March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World (2008)
Martin's Big Words (2005)
Men of Peace: Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela (2009)
Our Friend, Martin (1998)
Roads to Memphis (2010, TV-PG)
Selma (2014, PG-13)
Selma, Lord, Selma (1999, PG)
We Shall Overcome (2009)
