Below are King’s most essential speeches, sermons, and short writings, with links to audio and video when available. When dates are uncertain, a likely range of when a work was composed or performed is given. See also this collection of articles by MLK scholars about nearly every conceivable dimension of King’s life and thought, and this resource on books by and about King.
November, 1954: Transformed Nonconformist.
December 5, 1955: Address to the first mass meeting of the Montgomery bus boycott. Audio.
1956: The Violence of Desperate Men.
April 1956: Our Struggle.
March 18, 1956: When Peace Becomes Obnoxious.
May 7, 1956: The Death of Evil upon the Seashore.
November 1956: Paul’s Letter to American Christians. Audio.
January 1, 1957: Facing the Challenge of a New Age, Address Delivered at NAACP Emancipation Day Rally.
February 6, 1957: Nonviolence and Racial Justice.
April 7, 1957: The Birth of a New Nation. (On King’s travels to Ghana.) Audio.
May 17, 1957: Give Us the Ballot. Audio.
September 2, 1957: “A Look to the Future,” Address Delivered at Highlander Folk School’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Meeting.
November, 1957: Loving Your Enemies. Audio.
March 9, 1959: Farewell Statement for All India Radio. Audio.
March 22, 1959: Palm Sunday Sermon on Mohandas K. Gandhi.
July 1959: My Trip to the Land of Gandhi.
October 1959: The Social Organization of Nonviolence. (A response to Robert Williams call for Black people to take up arms.)
April, 1960: Pilgrimage to Nonviolence.
March 1961: The Man Who Was a Fool.
1961: Interview on BBC’s “Face to Face.” Video.
September 1962: Can A Christian Be a Communist?
July 1962 – March 1963: Shattered Dreams.
July 1962 – March 1963: Love In Action.
July 1962 – March 31, 1963: A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart.
July 1962 – March 1963: On Being a Good Neighbor.
July 1962 – March 1963: Our God is Able.
July 1962 – March 1963: Antidotes for Fear.
July 1962 – March 1963:The Answer to a Perplexing Question.
June, 1963: A Knock at Midnight. Audio.
June 23, 1963: Great March to Freedom Rally, Detroit. Audio.
August 28, 1963: I Have a Dream. Video. Audio.
September 18, 1963: Eulogy for the Martyred Children. (Funeral service for the children killed in the Birmingham bombing.) Audio.
December 10, 1964: Acceptance Address for the Nobel Peace Prize. Video.
January, 1965: MLK Playboy interview. (The interviewer is Alex Hayley.)
March 25, 1965: Address at the Conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March. Audio.
March 28, 1965: Interview on Meet the Press, immediately following the Selma to Montgomery March. Video.
June, 1965: The Bravest Man I Ever Met.
July 4, 1965: The American Dream. Audio (different version.)
June 5, 1966: Guidelines for a Constructive Church. Audio.
January 25, 1967: Letter from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominating Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.
April 4, 1967: Beyond Vietnam. Audio.
April 9, 1967: The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life. Audio.
April 14, 1967: The Other America. Video.
August 27, 1967: Why Jesus Called a Man a Fool. Audio.
August 16, 1967: “Where Do We Go From Here?,” Address Delivered at the Eleventh Annual SCLC Convention. Audio.
September 1, 1967: The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement.
October 26, 1967: What is Your Life’s Blueprint? Video. (No text version available.)
November/December 1967: The Impasse in Race Relations. Audio. (No text version available.)
November/December 1967: Conscience and the War in Vietnam. Audio. (No text version available.)
November/December 1967: Youth and Social Action. Audio. (No text version available.)
November/December 1967: Nonviolence and Social Change. Audio.
December 24, 1967: A Christmas Sermon on Peace (text incomplete.) Audio.
1967: Racism and the World House.
1967: King interviewed on NBC. Video.
1967: King interviewed on the Merv Griffin Show. Video (Part 1 on civil rights, part two on Vietnam and Communism.)
February 4, 1968: The Drum Major Instinct. Audio.
February 23, 1968: Honoring Dr. Du Bois.
March 3, 1968: Unfulfilled Dreams. Audio (incomplete.)
March 18, 1968: All Labor Has Dignity.
March 31, 1968: Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution. Audio.
April 3, 1968 (the day before King’s assassination): “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” Audio.