MLK Day Interactive Event

This year Bookmans stores are celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with displays in each of our stores. As one of the leaders of the civil rights movement, Dr. King’s impact continues to affect the movements of today. As racial injustice against Black Americans continues to occur it’s not so hard to imagine yourself during the civil rights movement. MLK Day is a day of reflection and service. This guide is what you make of it, a tool of sorts to share, add some reads to your to be read list, and a chance to revisit a part of history that reflects our world. 

Dive deeper into the influence of Dr. King and the history of the civil rights movement. Every resource provides a chance to learn more, further contextualize the civil rights movement, and celebrate Dr. King’s influence. The guide should serve as a resource and help frame Dr. King’s advocacy during the civil rights movement. Please engage with the resources and share your comments and reflections in our stores and with your community. Thank you for taking the time to learn, engage, and reflect with us!

Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement 

• • 1865-1968 Jim Crow Era & Laws
    • Other Key Terms:
      • Reconstruction
      • Redlining
      • Segregation 
      • Black codes
      • 13th amendment
      • KKK
      • Ida B. Wells
  • January 15th, 1929 Dr. King was born in Atlanta Georgia. MLK Day is a day of service dedicated to Dr. King’s life and legacy as a civil rights leader. MLK Day was not recognized by the state of Arizona until 1986. Read more on Dr. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King’s efforts to establish legislation for Dr. King’s birthday to be recognized as a federal holiday. 
  • April 16th, 1963 Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail transcript.
  • May 17th, 1954 Brown v. Board of Education, of Topeka 347 U.S. 483 was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court affirmed state laws allowing racially segregated public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.
  • August 28th, 1955 The Murder of Emmett Till 
  • December 1st, 1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery, AL. 
  • Dec 5th, 1955 – Dec 20th, 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott
  • January 10th-11th, 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference Sixty Black pastors and activists, including Dr. King, gather to plan non-violent demonstrations against racial injustice throughout the south. 

• September 4th, 1957 The Little Rock Nine

• September 9th, 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957

• • February 1 – July 25, 1960 The Greensboro Woolworth’s Sit-ins

• November 20th, 1960 Ruby Bridges 

• 1961 The Freedom Riders 

• June 11, 1963, Governor George C. Wallace stands in a doorway at the University of Alabama to block two black students from registering. The standoff continues until President John F. Kennedy sends the National Guard to the campus.

• • August 28th, 1963 The March on Washington 

• “I Have a Dream” Dr. King’s iconic speech at the Lincoln memorial. 

• • September 15th, 1963 Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing
  • July 2nd, 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • February 21, 1965 Civil rights leader Malcolm X was assassinated.
  • March 7th, 1965 The Selma to Montgomery Marches
  • August 6, 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965

• October 28, 1967 One of the founders of the Black Panther Party Huey P. Newton was arrested and pled not guilty to the murder of officer John Frey uniting The Black Panther and Peace and Freedom parties forming the “Free Huey!” campaign. 

• April 4, 1968 Assassination of Dr. King 

• “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” Dr. King’s last speech given at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

• April 11, 1968 Civil Rights Act of 1968

Other Key terms

• Cartoon and Study Guide for the kids about the Reconstruction Era
• COINTENPRO + Dr. King 
• Women of the Black Panther Party 

More For Your Reading List

• New release! The Echoing Ida Collection 
• Quick read! 7 Civil Rights Leaders You Need to Know 
• Nine Days the Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election is new non-fiction for your TBR list. 
• Have you heard about the Kindred project from Pima CountyPublic Library? 
• The #LoveCraftCountry Syllabi is a treasure trove of resources from the Langston League if you’ve seen Lovecraft Country on HBO. 
• For more on segregation read Attacking the Black–White Opportunity Gap That Comes from Residential Segregation from the Century Foundation.  
• Check out The Shadow Act for news on  Black film and television. 
• More book recommendations from Black Stories Matter from the Indie Author Project.

Listen Here

• NYT Still Processing Podcast We Celebrate the REAL MLK Day episode: Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris discuss the siginiface Dr. King’s death on the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination in 2018. 

• The Root It’s Lit is a podcast elevating Black voices.

• Here’s a collection of podcasts from The Hill: Your Black History Month Podcast Playlist.
• The Untold Story: Policing with Jay Ellis the Insecure actor investigates policing and police violence from Lemonada Media. 

Watchlist

• One Night in Miami is the directorial debut from Academy Award winner Regina King, “One Night in Miami is a fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s,” available on Amazon Prime. 

• For a British perspective on Black life around the time of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. the Small Axe film series directed by Academy Award-winning director Steve McQueen is about West Indian immigrants in London during the 1960s and 1970s. 

• • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution: View the 2018 Independent Lens Film from PBS and investigate a nuanced look at the Black Panther Party. 

• Problem Areas with Wyatt Cenac is a Late Night show hosted by Wyatt Cenac that aired on HBO in 2018 focusing on issues facing the nation. Season one focuses on policing and season two focuses on education. 

• Here’s a playlist of Dr. Kings speeches from LearnOutLoud on YouTube!

Test your knowledge of movements past and present with the Black Panthers and Black Lives Matter Quiz from pbs.org. 

MLK Day is just the beginning of a continuum celebrating Black history and life. Stay tuned to the Bookmans blog and our social media feeds during Black History month in February for more content. Explore more reading when you check out our Black Voices Matter displays in all Bookmans stores. If you’re looking to take action now you can find ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement here. Finally, for an in-depth look at Anti-Racism and even more, resources see our Anti-Racist Media Resource Guide.