Countless books have been written about the extraordinary life of Martin Luther King Jr., capturing his enduring vision for a more just and equitable world where individuals are judged "not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." But why not pick up a recent release that looks at his legacy through a modern lens? These brand-new books highlight his influence on the fight for justice, offering an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come—and how far we still have to go.

Celebrate the life of this remarkable leader by borrowing one of these ebooks or audiobooks on the Libby app from your library.

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
🎧 Audiobook

The renowned author of Between the World and Me journeys to three resonant sites of conflict (Dakar, Senegal; Columbia, South Carolina; and Palestine) to explore how the stories we tell—and the ones we don’t—shape our realities.

Coates’s book urges readers to confront uncomfortable truths, dismantle systemic myths, and strive for a more just and equitable society—core principles of Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring legacy.

🎧 I Have a Dream—60th Anniversary Edition by Martin Luther King Jr.

While Dr. King’s memorable speech isn’t new, it may be to the young people in your life. Let them hear this powerful message for the first time in its entirety in this audiobook edition that pays tribute to an extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution.

This 60th anniversary edition, released last year, features new forewords and an afterword by Martin Luther King III, Dr. Bernice A. King, and Dexter Scott King.

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig, adapted by National Book Award–nominated authors Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long
🎧 Audiobook

Eig’s King: A Life won the Pulitzer Prize in 2024 for Biography and has now been adapted for young adults.

Highlighting the author’s never-before-seen research (including recently declassified FBI documents), this book reaffirms and recontextualizes the lasting effects and implications of MLK’s work for the present day. This adaptation for a new generation is a nuanced, unprecedented portrayal of a man who truly shook the world.

John Lewis: A Life by David Greenberg
🎧 Audiobook
A New York Times Notable Book of 2024

Both John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. shared a profound connection as pivotal leaders in the American Civil Rights Movement.

This comprehensive biography captures Lewis’s influential career through documents from dozens of archives, interviews with hundreds of people who knew him, and long-lost footage of Lewis himself speaking to reporters from his hospital bed following his severe beating on “Bloody Sunday” in Selma.

King of the North by Jeanne Theoharis
🎧 Audiobook

You may have to wait until April 1 until this book is released, but you’ll want to add to your TBR list as it’s one not to be missed.

Written by New York Times bestselling author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks comes a radical reframing of the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. Theoharis argues that King’s time in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—outside Dixie—was at the heart of his campaign for racial justice.

From Henry Louis Gates Jr: "Theoharis shows us through penetrating research and sensitive, scholarly insight that Dr. King not only was keenly aware of the history of antiblack racism in the North, but battled it from the very beginning of his career."

*Title availability may vary by library & region.

Browse more books about Dr. King, works that inspired him during his life, and books about Civil Rights in America: