A silhouette of Martin Luther King, Jr., with the words "Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr." on an orange background.

We hope that you will join us for our special programs in honor of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

We also have recommendations for great books and movies about Dr. King, and a special resource from our Queens Memory team.

All Queens Public Library locations will be closed on Monday, January 20 for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

 

Queens Memory: Martin Luther King, Jr. at Queens College

Special Programs

Book Picks for Kids

Book Picks for Teens and Adults

Movie Picks

 

Queens Memory: Martin Luther King, Jr. at Queens College

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.

 

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Special Programs

Click on the link in each title for more information.

Celebrating MLK: Literary Thursdays: Rita Omokha, Author of Resist
Thursday, January 9, 6pm
Join us on Microsoft Teams: https://queenslib.org/3D6x

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Celebrating MLK: Fun Friday: Martin Luther King Story and Craft
Friday, January 10, 4pm
Glen Oaks Library
256-04 Union Turnpike

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Celebrating MLK: MLK Film Screening, Speeches
Monday, January 13-Friday, January 17, 2pm
Far Rockaway Library
1637 Central Avenue

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Celebrating MLK: I Have a Dream "Vision Board"
Monday, January 13, 3:30pm
Ravenswood Community Learning Center
35-32 21 Street, Long Island City

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Celebrating MLK: Martin Luther King Jr. Collage
Monday, January 13, 4pm
Howard Beach Library
92-06 156 Avenue

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Celebrating MLK: Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Doves
Tuesday, January 14, 3pm
North Forest Park Library
98-27 Metropolitan Avenue, Forest Hills

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Celebrating MLK: Martin Luther King Coloring Pages
Tuesday, January 14, 3pm
Central Library
89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica

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Celebrating MLK: Martin Luther King Jr. Craft
Thursday, January 16, 4:30pm
Richmond Hill Library
118-14 Hillside Avenue

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Celebrating MLK: In Honor of Dr. King - A Gospel Celebration
Saturday, January 18, 2pm
Far Rockaway Library
1637 Central Avenue

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Celebrating MLK: March on Washington Maze
Tuesday, January 21, 4pm
Baisley Park Library
117-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica

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Celebrating MLK: Get the Message Out!
Wednesday, January 22, 3pm
Cambria Heights Library
218-13 Linden Boulevard

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Celebrating MLK: Gates of Equality: Martin Luther King's Story
Wednesday, January 22, 4pm
East Elmhurst Library
95-06 Astoria Boulevard

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Celebrating MLK: Dream to Read
Saturday, January 25, 2pm
Rosedale Library
144-20 243 Street

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We are continuing to add programs that honor Dr. King. Be sure to check the QPL Calendar for the latest updates!

 

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Book Picks for Kids

 

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)
Book | eBook

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. (selected by Coretta Scott King)

Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King
by Coretta Scott King, Barbara Reynolds, and Ekua Holmes
Book | eBook | Audiobook

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
Book | eBook

Free at Last! The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Angela Bull

The Cart That Carried Martin by Eve Bunting and Don Tate
Book | eBook

Martin Luther King: the Peaceful Warrior by Ed Clayton and Donald Bermudez
Book | eBook

Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968
by Alice Faye Duncan and R. Gregory Christie
Book | eBook

We March by Shane W. Evans

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World
by Christine King Farris and London Ladd

My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris and Chris Soentpiet

Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Melissa Ferguson
Book | eBook

Martin Luther King Jr.: Walking in the Light by Jon M. Fishman
Book | eBook

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
Book | eBook

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
Book | Audiobook

We Dream a World: Carrying the Light From My Grandparents Martin Luther King, Jr.
and Coretta Scott King

by Yolanda Renee King and Nicole Tadgell
Book | eBook

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day
by Kathlyn J. Kirkwood and Steffi Walthall
Book | eBook | Audiobook

Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington
by Michael G. Long and Bea Jackson
Book | eBook

1963 March on Washington (Protest! March for Change)
by Joyce Markovicks
Book | eBook

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
Book | eBook

Young Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" by Joanne Mattern and Allan Eitzen

Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Margaret McNamara and Mike Gordon

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

Martin Rising: Requiem for a King by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
Book | Audiobook

Martin's Dream (Ana & Andrew) by Christine Platt and Anuki López
Book | eBook

Martin Luther King Jr.: Fighting for Civil Rights by Christine Platt and David Shepard
Book | eBook

Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier
Book | Audiobook

Martin Luther King, Jr. by Lucia Raatma

Martin Luther King...and the Fight for Equality by Sarah Ridley

Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange and Kadir Nelson

Child of the Civil Rights Movement by Paula Yong Shelton and Raúl Colón

Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Dream and You
by Carole Boston Weatherford and James Ransome
Book | eBook

A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington
by Carole Boston Weatherford, Rob Sanders, and Byron McCray
Book | eBook

A Place to Land: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation
by Barry Wittenstein and Jerry Pinkney
Book | eBook

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Book Picks for Teens and Adults

 

Book Picks for Teens and Adults

I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book | eBook

I Have a Dream and Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book | eBook | Audiobook

Our God Is Marching On by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book | eBook

Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book | eBook

The Trumpet of Conscience by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book | eBook

Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book | eBook | Audiobook

Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book | eBook | Audiobook

Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Last Interview and Other Conversations

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Companion (selected by Coretta Scott King)

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. (selected by Coretta Scott King)

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson)
Book | eBook

The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings (eBook)
(edited by Clayborne Carson)

A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson and Peter Holloran)
Book | eBook | Audiobook

A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard)
Book | eBook

A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr. for Students
(introduction by Walter Dean Myers)
Book | eBook

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)
Book | eBook

My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King and Barbara Reynolds
Book | Audiobook

All You Have to Do by Autumn Allen
Book | eBook

King: A Comics Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (The Complete Edition) by Ho Che Anderson

Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
by Melba Pattillo Beals

The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Perspectives on Modern World History)
by Noah Berlatsky

M.L.K.: Journey of a King by Tonya Bolden

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
Book | eBook

Boycotts, Strikes, and Marches: Protests of the Civil Rights Era by Barbara Diggs

April 4, 1968 by Michael Eric Dyson
Book | Audiobook

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
Book | eBook | Audiobook

I See the Promised Land by Arthur Flowers and Manu Chitrakar

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 and Paul Kendrick

Threads of Peace: How Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Changed the World
by Uma Krishnaswami
Book | eBook

Kennedy and King by Steven Levingston
Book | eBook

March: Book One, Book Two, Book Three, and Trilogy Slipcase Set
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Reference Guide to His Life and Works
by Peter J. Ling and David Deverick

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March
by Lynda Blackmon Lowery
Book | Audiobook

She Persisted: Coretta Scott King by Kelly Starling Lyons
Book | Audiobook | Español

Today the World Is Watching You: The Little Rock Nine and the Fight for School Integration, 1957 by Kekla Magoon
Book | eBook

And We Rise: The Civil Rights Movement in Poems by Erica Martin
Book | Audiobook

The Murkin Conspiracy by Philip H. Melanson

Martin Luther King Jr. (Public Profiles) (eBook) by The New York Times Editorial Staff

Resist: How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America by Rita Omokha

When Harlem Nearly Killed King by Hugh Pearson

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
Book | eBook

Redemption: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Last 31 Hours by Joseph Rosenbloom

Exploring Civil Rights: The Movement: 1963 by Angela Shanté

Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides
Book | eBook | 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 with David Ritz
Book | eBook

The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Jason Sokol

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Book | Audiobook

Chasing King's Killer by James L. Swanson
Book | Audiobook

Sitting In, Standing Up: Leaders of the Civil Rights Era by Diane C. Taylor
Book | eBook

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

Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington by Stephanie Watson
Book | eBook

Killing King: Racial Terrorists, James Earl Ray, and the Plot to Assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. by Stuart Wexler and Larry Hancock
Book | eBook

More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long

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Movie Picks

 

Movie Picks

All links are DVDs unless otherwise specified.

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)
DVD | hoopla Kids Streaming

Coretta Scott (2013)
hoopla Kids Streaming | Kanopy Kids Streaming

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective (1994)

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985 (1986 & 1990)
DVD | Kanopy Streaming

Freedom on My Mind (1994)

History Kids: Coretta Scott King and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy (2018)

History Kids: From Selma to Montgomery: Marching with Martin Luther King, Jr. (2016)

History Kids: Martin Luther King, Jr. (2018) (hoopla Streaming)

Holiday Kids: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (2022)

I Am MLK Jr. (2018) (hoopla Streaming)

I Am Not Your Negro (2016, PG-13)
DVD | hoopla Streaming | Kanopy Streaming

In Remembrance of Martin (1986)

King (1978)

King: Man of Peace in a Time of War (2007)
DVD | hoopla Streaming

Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013, PG-13)

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
DVD | hoopla Streaming

King in the Wilderness (2018)

The March (2013, TV-PG)

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World (2008)
DVD | hoopla Kids Streaming | Kanopy Kids Streaming

Martin's Big Words (2002)
DVD | hoopla Kids Streaming | Kanopy Kids Streaming

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)

Who Killed Martin Luther King? (1989)

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