MLK Speeches, essays, and sermons

MLK Initiative Resources

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Websites

• The King Center (Atlanta, GA)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site (Atlanta, GA)
• Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute (Stanford University)

Dr. King’s Writings, Speeches, and Sermons

• The Autobiography of Martin Luther King
• A Call to Conscience: Landmark Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. [transcriptions of speeches including "I Have a Dream" and "I’ve Been to the Mountaintop"]
• A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. [transcriptions of sermons including "A Knock at Midnight" and "The Drum Major Instinct"]
• "The Voice of Dr. King" [Audio versions of many of King’s sermons and speeches]

Works of Dr. King Used in the Maryland Humanities Council Community Conversations Program

• "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
• "Knock at Midnight"
• "I Have a Dream"
• "The Drum Major Instinct"
• "Where Do We Go From Here?"

Books

• John J. Ansbro, Martin Luther King, Jr.: Nonviolent Strategies and Tactics for Social Change (Lanham: Madison Books, 2003)
• Joan Turner Beifuss. At The River I Stand: Memphis, the 1968 Strike, and Martin Luther King. (Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Pub, 1989).
• Taylor Branch, At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years 1965-1968 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006)
• Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988)
• Taylor Branch, Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998)
• James A. Colaiaco, Martin Luther King, Jr.: Apostle of Militant Nonviolence (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988)
• Frederick L. Downing, To See the Promised Land: The Faith Pilgrimage of Martin Luther King, Jr.(Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1986)
• Noel Leo Erskine, King Among the Theologians (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1994)
• Michael Friedly, Martin Luther King, Jr.: The FBI File (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1993
• David J. Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (New York: William Morrow, 1986)
• David J. Garrow, Chicago, 1966: Open Housing Marches, Summit Negotiations, and Operation Breadbasket (Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Publishing, 1989)
• David J. Garrow, The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.: From "Solo" to Memphis (New York: W.W. Norton, 1981)
• Maria Kefalas, Working-Class Heroes: Protecting Home, Community, and Nation in a Chicago Neighborhood (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003)
• Richard Lentz, Symbols, the News Magazine, and Martin Luther King (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1990)
• David L. Lewis, King, A Biography. 2nd edition (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1978)
• James R. Ralph, Northern Protest: Martin Luther King, Jr., Chicago, and the Civil Rights Movement (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1993)
• Donnie Williams and Wayne Greenhaw, The Thunder of Angels: The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the People Who Broke the Back of Jim Crow (Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, 2005)
• Juan Williams and Julian Bond, Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965 (New York: Viking Penguin, 1987)

Films and Documentaries

• A Day to Remember: August 28, 1963. (Alexandria, VA: Twin Cities Public Television, Inc., 1978)
• At the River I Stand [DVD] (San Francisco, CA: California Newsreel, 1993)
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective. (Santa Monica, CA: Xenon Entertainment Group: Xenon Home Video, 1994)
• Eyes on the Prize [VHS Video] (Washington, DC: PBS Home Video, 1999)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. – I Have a Dream [DVD] (Orland Park, IL: MPI Home Video, 2005)
• Martin Luther King, Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail. (Northbrook, IL: Coronet/MTI Film & Video, 1988)
• Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Making of a Holiday (Washington, DC: On the Potomac Productions, Inc., 1988)

Other Helpful Websites

• "Eyes on the Prize" Supplementary Resources