The ongoing struggle for justice, equity, and bravery in the face of injustice should be considered on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Through fiction that poses difficult questions about identity, racism, and moral decision-making, as well as real-life accounts of activism and accountability, young adult and teen literature provide readers with compelling ways to investigate these themes. The suggested fiction and nonfiction books listed below encourage readers to reflect on the present, learn from the past, and envision a more equitable future motivated by Dr. King's legacy. All these amazing titles can be found in the LSF Brookfield collection, along with other SWAN Libraries.
Nonfiction
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds
The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. Racist ideas are woven into the fabric of this country, and the first step to building an antiracist America is acknowledging America's racist past and present. This book takes you on that journey, showing how racist ideas started and were spread, and how they can be discredited.
Stamped: racism, antiracism, and you | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
Two Oakland teenagers from vastly different worlds cross paths for just eight minutes a day, until a reckless act on the 57 bus changes both of their lives forever. When Sasha is severely burned and Richard is charged with hate crimes, the case draws international attention and exposes urgent questions about justice, race, and accountability.
The 57 bus | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith
This graphic memoir recounts Tommie Smith’s journey from growing up in rural Texas to his historic gold medal win and raised-fist protest at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Despite facing backlash and hardship, Victory. Stand! powerfully captures a defining moment in sports history and Smith’s enduring fight for civil rights.
Victory. Stand!: raising my fist for justice | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Just Mercy: Adapted for Young Adults; A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson
In this young adult adaptation of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson shares his personal experiences as a lawyer fighting injustice within the broken U.S. criminal justice system. Through powerful real-life cases and his work with the Equal Justice Initiative, Stevenson highlights the urgent need for compassion, fairness, and true justice for society’s most marginalized people.
Chasing King's Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassin by James L. Swanson
James Earl Ray and Martin Luther King, Jr. had two very different life journeys, but their paths fatally collide when Ray assassinates the world-renown civil rights leader. This book provides an inside look into both of their lives, the history of the time, and a blow-by-blow examination of the assassination and its aftermath."
Fiction
The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass
Seventeen-year-old Nick Carrington leaves Oklahoma for Harlem and an elite private school, hoping to reinvent himself, only to find the same racism he tried to escape. As his feelings for the charismatic Jay Gatsby Jr. deepen, Nick’s sharp writing exposes dangerous truths that force them both to decide whether to keep running or finally fight back.
The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Invisible Son by Kim Johnson
After returning from juvie for a crime he didn’t commit, Andre Jackson comes home to a gentrifying Portland neighborhood, a COVID shutdown, and a life that feels erased. As he searches for a missing friend, Andre uncovers unsettling truths that may expose both his wrongful arrest and the dangerous power structures working against him.
Invisible son | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Justyce McAllister is an Ivy League–bound honor student, but a wrongful arrest forces him to confront how little his achievements protect him from racism. As violence and media scrutiny upend his life, Justyce turns to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings to question whether nonviolence still has a place in today’s world.
Dear Martin | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams
Ten years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik's mother attended.
Blood at the Root | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
Raised in a Black separatist Movement, Nigeria Jones’s carefully controlled world shatters when her mother disappears, forcing her into responsibilities she never wanted. As she attends a private Quaker school and searches for the truth about her family, Nigeria begins to question everything she was taught and discovers the courage to define herself.