We still have that dream. You know the one — outlined in Dr. King’s iconic 1963 speech. The righteousness; the dignity; the necessity. We celebrate the progress made since that day, but we also know that it’s not nearly enough... and it’s important that our children know it, too.
Nearly sixty years later, it’s easy for this generation to place Dr. King in the category of “the man, the myth, the legend.” His fight, and the fight of all those courageous souls who worked right along with him, can seem abstract, theoretical; as if it’s a really moving piece of fiction.
But it’s not fiction. And we can all help.
We can teach our children what happened, what still happens, and our responsibility to deal justly and do good continually — for everyone. Equality matters to us and is something we want to fight for everyday. We can start in our homes. We can teach and model love.
We’ve collected some books to get you started with your small ones. Start early, or if it’s no longer early — start now.
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein
National Geographic Readers: Martin Luther King, Jr. by Kitson Jazynka
Be a King by Carole Boston Weatherford
Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.? by Bonnie Bader
My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Martin Luther King III
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Christine Platt
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport
I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan