“The time is always right to do what is right.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Service is one of the four Core Values at The New Century School. Honoring the great man who famously said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve” on the day set aside to serve in his name is an annual observance at TNCS.

On the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service, we step up to make communities more equitable, to fight for systemic change, and to take action to create the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dream. Together, we can strengthen ties to our communities and one other while we address critical issues that divide us.

At TNCS, this type of service happens all year long, with the TNCS Community participating in food, clothing, and hygiene kit drives (scroll to the end for more service posts), for example, and by actively participating in antiracism. But on January 16th, that service becomes transcendent, merging with the service of others and, temporarily, at least, actualizing the Beloved Community.

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Day of Service

Baltimore has a special connection with Dr. King, who visited in 1964. Events will take place all around Charm City leading up to and on January 16th, the day set aside to serve the community in his honor. And, YES! The parade is happening (Monday, beginning at noon)! Other wonderful events like the annual Dare to Dream day at American Visionary Art Museum (free museum admission!) as well as opportunities to volunteer and serve are included in these links:

From Baltimore magazine: Ways to Honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy Around Baltimore
From Baltimore Fishbowl: Here are ways to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in Baltimore

Whether you are able to serve on January 16th or not, you can inspire your children to stand up for equality. Start with this biographical video on Dr. King made for kids.

Books are another extremely effective way to teach children about the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. So, with the help of Colours of Us and Encompass, here are reading lists for preschool, and elementary, and middle school children, grouped by age.

Preschool Reading List

I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., by Brad Meltzer
The Story of Martin Luther King Jr., by Johnny Ray Moore
My Uncle Martin’s Big Heart, by Angela Farris Watkins
My First Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr., by Marion Dane Bauer
A Sweet Smell of Roses, by Angela Johnson

Elementary Reading List

Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You, by Carole Boston Weatherford
As Good as Anybody, by Richard Michelson
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
National Geographic Readers: Martin Luther King, Jr., by Kitson Jazynka
I Have a Dream, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation, by Barry Wittenstein
My Brother Martin, by Christine King Farris
Martin’s Dream, by Jane Kurtz
I Am #4: Martin Luther King Jr., by Grace Norwich
My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by Martin Luther King III
My Dream of Martin Luther King, by Faith Ringgold
The March on Washington (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time), by Bonnie Bader

Middle School Reading List

Martin Rising: Requiem For a King, by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?, by Bonnie Bader
Free At Last: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Angela Bull
Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank, by Nancy Churnin
Portraits of African-American Heroes, by Tonya Bolden
Martin Luther King Jr.: A Graphic History of America’s Great Civil Rights Leaders, by Rachel Ruiz
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968, by Alice Faye Duncan