Hailed as the most compelling account of [Martin Luther] King's life in a generation by the Washington Post, the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller is now adapted for young adults in this new standard biography of the most famous civil rights activist in American History.

Often regarded as more of a myth and legend than man, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was many things throughout his storied life: student, activist, preacher, dreamer, father, husband. From his Atlanta childhood centered in the historically Black neighborhood of Sweet Auburn to his precipitous rise as a civil rights leader on the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Dr. King would go on to become one of the most recognizable, influential, and controversial persons of the twentieth century.

In this fast-paced and immersive adaptation of Jonathan Eig's groundbreaking New York Times bestseller readers will meet a Dr. King like no other: a committed radical whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were in his lifetime, a minister wrestling with his human frailties and dark moods, a citizen hunted by his own government.

The inspiring young adult edition of King: A Life highlights the author's never-before-seen research--including recently declassified FBI documents--while reaffirming and recontextualizing the lasting effects and implications of MLK's work for the present day. Adapted by National Book Award-nominated authors Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long, this biography for a new generation is a nuanced, unprecedented portrayal of a man who truly shook the world.

Accolades and Praise for King: A Life:

Pulitzer Prize Winner
A New York Times, Washington Post, and Indie Bestseller
A National Book Award Nominee
One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year
A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
A Best Book of the Year from New York Times ● Washington Post ● TIME Magazine ● The New Yorker ● Publishers Weekly ● The Chicago Tribune ● Smithsonian Magazine ● Christian Science Monitor ● Air Mail

Supple, penetrating, heartstring-pulling and compulsively readable . . . Eig's book is worthy of its subject. --New York Times

No book could be more timely than Jonathan Eig's sweeping and majestic new King. --Philadelphia Inquirer

When reading this book, all I feel is kindness.-- Sam Smith, Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer and songwriter

Thank God we have Alok. And I'm learning a thing or two myself.--Billy Porter, Emmy award-winning actor, singer, and Broadway theater performer

Beyond the Gender Binary will give readers everywhere the feeling that anything is possible within themselves--Princess Nokia, musician and co-founder of the Smart Girl Club

A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.-- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

An affirming, thoughtful read for all ages. -- School Library Journal, starred review

In Beyond the Gender Binary, poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.

The New York Times bestseller How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi is shaping the way a generation thinks about race and racism. How to be a (Young) Antiracist is a dynamic reframing of the concepts shared in the adult book, with young adulthood front and center. Aimed at readers 12 and up, and co-authored by award-winning children's book author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist empowers teen readers to help create a more just society. Antiracism is a journey--and now young adults will have a map to carve their own path. Kendi and Stone have revised this work to provide anecdotes and data that speaks directly to the experiences and concerns of younger readers, encouraging them to think critically and build a more equitable world in doing so.

Powerful and compelling, this book gives us the courage to discover our own journeys into art.--Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in Kensington Gardens, and co-editor of the Cahiers d'Art review

This deeply personal and boldly political offering inspires and ignites.-- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

In this powerful and hopeful account, arts writer, curator, and activist Kimberly Drew reminds us that the art world has space not just for the elite, but for everyone.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, arts writer and co-editor of Black Futures Kimberly Drew shows us that art and protest are inextricably linked. Drawing on her personal experience through art toward activism, Drew challenges us to create space for the change that we want to see in the world. Because there really is so much more space than we think.

After her father was murdered, María escaped in the middle of the night with her mother.

Zaynab was out of school for two years as she fled war before landing in America. Her sister, Sabreen, survived a harrowing journey to Italy.

Ajida escaped horrific violence, but then found herself battling the elements to keep her family safe.

Malala's experiences visiting refugee camps caused her to reconsider her own displacement--first as an Internally Displaced Person when she was a young child in Pakistan, and then as an international activist who could travel anywhere in the world except to the home she loved. In We Are Displaced, Malala not only explores her own story, but she also shares the personal stories of some of the incredible girls she has met on her journeys--girls who have lost their community, relatives, and often the only world they've ever known.

In a time of immigration crises, war, and border conflicts, We Are Displaced is an important reminder from one of the world's most prominent activists that every single one of the 68.5 million currently displaced is a person--often a young person--with hopes and dreams.

A stirring and timely book. --New York Times

Chosen a Best Children's Book of the Year by the Bank Street Center!

Voted a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews!

A biography for younger readers about one of the most influential activists of our time, who was an early advocate for African Americans and for gay rights.

Bayard had an unshakable optimism, nerves of steel, and, most importantly, a faith that if the cause is just and people are organized, nothing can stand in our way.--President Barack Obama

Bayard Rustin was one of the great organizers and activists of the Civil Rights Movement. Without his skill and vision, the historic impact of the March on Washington might not have been possible. I am glad this biography will make young people aware of his life and his incredible contribution to American history.--Congressman John Lewis

'We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers, ' declared Bayard Rustin in the late 1940s. A proponent of nonviolent resistance and a stalwart figure in the civil rights movement, Rustin organized a profound and peaceful milestone in American history--the 1963 March on Washington. . . . Troublemaker for Justice describes not only how Rustin orchestrated the March on Washington in two months but also how he stood up for his Quaker principles throughout his life. The three authors, Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle and Michael G. Long, show the difficulties Rustin faced as a gay black man in 20th-century America, and that he shouldered them with strength, intelligence, and a quest for peace and justice.--Abby Nolan, The Washington Post

An excellent biography that belongs in every young adult library. Readers will find Rustin's story captivating; his story could encourage young people to fight for change.--Michelle Kornberger, Library Journal, *Starred Review

In today's political landscape, this volume is a lesson in the courage to live according to one's truth and the dedication it takes to create a better world.--Kirkus Reviews, *Starred Review

A long-overdue introduction to a fascinating, influential change maker.--Publishers Weekly, *Starred Review

This biography is an indispensable addition to the literature of both civil and gay rights.--Michael Cart, Booklist, *Starred review

Bayard Rustin was a major figure in the Civil Rights movement. He was arrested on a bus 13 years before Rosa Parks and he participated in integrated bus rides throughout the South 14 years before the Freedom Riders. He was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., teaching him the techniques and philosophy of Gandhian nonviolent direct action. He organized the March on Washington in 1963, one of the most impactful mobilizations in American history.

Despite these contributions, few Americans recognize his name, and he is absent from most history books, in large part because he was gay. This biography traces Rustin's life, from his childhood and his first arrest in high school for sitting in the whites only section of a theater, through a lifetime of nonviolent activism.

Authors Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, and Michael G. Long provide middle and high school students with a biography of Rustin that illustrates how the personal is political. Young readers will take away valuable lessons about identity, civics, and 20th-century history.--Rethinking Schools

Teachers: Discussion Guide Available! Explanation of Common Core Instructional Standards Available! Reach out to the publisher at Stacey [@] citylights.com

The New York Times bestseller How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi is shaping the way a generation thinks about race and racism. How to be a (Young) Antiracist is a dynamic reframing of the concepts shared in the adult book, with young adulthood front and center. Aimed at readers 12 and up, and co-authored by award-winning children's book author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist empowers teen readers to help create a more just society. Antiracism is a journey--and now young adults will have a map to carve their own path. Kendi and Stone have revised this work to provide anecdotes and data that speaks directly to the experiences and concerns of younger readers, encouraging them to think critically and build a more equitable world in doing so.

An inspiring story that will change the way all of us think about the climate crisis - and how we can solve it. -- Van Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Green Collar Economy and Rebuild the Dream, and co-founder of Dream Corps

A hopeful, well-argued book on climate change written in a refreshing new voice.-- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Martinez presents a meaningful, heartfelt call to action with content that reflects current issues. Additionally, the book's short length will appeal to reluctant readers. An essential purchase for any high school or public library.-- School Library Journal, starred review

In this personal, moving essay, environmental activist and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez uses his art and his activism to show that climate change is a human issue that can't be ignored.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, Earth Guardians Youth Director and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez shows us how his music feeds his environmental activism and vice versa. Martinez visualizes a future that allows us to direct our anger, fear, and passion toward creating change. Because, at the end of the day, we all have a part to play.

If I didn't fight, who would?

Judy Heumann was only 5 years old when she was first denied her right to attend school. Paralyzed from polio and raised by her Holocaust-surviving parents in New York City, Judy had a drive for equality that was instilled early in life.

In this young readers' edition of her acclaimed memoir, Being Heumann, Judy shares her journey of battling for equal access in an unequal world--from fighting to attend grade school after being described as a fire hazard because of her wheelchair, to suing the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her disability. Judy went on to lead 150 disabled people in the longest sit-in protest in US history at the San Francisco Federal Building. Cut off from the outside world, the group slept on office floors, faced down bomb threats, and risked their lives to win the world's attention and the first civil rights legislation for disabled people.

Judy's bravery, persistence, and signature rebellious streak will speak to every person fighting to belong and fighting for social justice.

The new manifesto for how we as queer people could and should navigate the world. It's the holding hand I never had--but wish I did.--Troye Sivan, Golden Globe nominated-singer, songwriter, and actor

With the persistence of queerphobia all around the world, this book is absolutely necessary, even vital.--Édouard Louis, internationally bestselling author of History of Violence

To Eli's credit, all of the rules are rooted in considerations of conscience and kindness and, if observed, will make a
better world--as will this book.--Booklist, starred review

A must-read that highlights the importance of radical empathy, community building, and solidarity.--School Library Journal, starred review

In The New Queer Conscience, LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli argues the urgent need for queer responsibility -- that queers anywhere are responsible for queers everywhere.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, The New Queer Conscience, Voices4 Founder and LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli offers a candid and compassionate introduction to queer responsibility. Eli calls on his Jewish faith to underline how kindness and support within the queer community can lead to a stronger global consciousness. More importantly, he reassures us that we're not alone. In fact, we never were. Because if you mess with one queer, you mess with us all.

With no word for gay in Arabic, Luma may not have known what to call the feelings she had growing up in Jordan during the 1980s, but she knew well enough to keep them secret. It was clear that not only would her family have trouble accepting her, but trapped in a conservative religious society, she could've also been killed if anyone discovered her sexuality. Luma spent her teenage years increasingly desperate to find a way out, and finally found one when she was accepted into college in the United States. Once there, Luma begins the ago­nizing process of applying for political asylum, which ensures her safety--but causes her family to break ties with her.

Becoming a refugee in America is a rude awakening, and Luma must rely on the grace of friends and strangers alike as she builds a new life and finally embraces her full self. Slowly, she's able to forge a new path forward with both her biological and chosen families, eventually founding Fugees Family, a nonprofit dedicated to the education and support of refu­gee children in the United States.

As hopeful as it is heartrending, From Here is a coming-of-age memoir about one young woman's search for belonging and the many meanings of home for those who must leave theirs.

With no word for gay in Arabic, Luma may not have known what to call the feelings she had growing up in Jordan during the 1980s, but she knew well enough to keep them secret. It was clear that not only would her family have trouble accepting her, but trapped in a conservative religious society, she could've also been killed if anyone discovered her sexuality. Luma spent her teenage years increasingly desperate to find a way out, and finally found one when she was accepted into college in the United States. Once there, Luma begins the ago­nizing process of applying for political asylum, which ensures her safety--but causes her family to break ties with her.

Becoming a refugee in America is a rude awakening, and Luma must rely on the grace of friends and strangers alike as she builds a new life and finally embraces her full self. Slowly, she's able to forge a new path forward with both her biological and chosen families, eventually founding Fugees Family, a nonprofit dedicated to the education and support of refu­gee children in the United States.

As hopeful as it is heartrending, From Here is a coming-of-age memoir about one young woman's search for belonging and the many meanings of home for those who must leave theirs.

The Challenges We Faced, The Women We Became shares firsthand experiences in women's lives worldwide. It is a compilation of interviews addressing the overarching question: What is a challenging experience you have faced, and how did overcoming it make you stronger?

Many of us encounter difficult experiences at different stages in our lives, and these events are often accompanied by a sense of isolation and despair, which can result in long-term effects, getting in the way of productive and happy lives. The Challenges We Faced, The Women We Became can make people in these situations better understand that they are not alone in what they are going through and make them aware that accomplished women around the world have also endured similar challenges and were able to find a way to overcome them to become who they are today. The Challenges We Faced, The Women We Became, provides comfort, inspiration, and newfound self-belief for people struggling to combat the challenges they are confronting and anyone hoping to learn from others' experiences.

The Challenges We Faced, The Women We Became includes interviews with: Dr. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Jean Muenchrath, Leah Witman Moore, Dr. Kateryna Terletska, Emilie Béatrice Epaye, Colonel Kathryn Spletstoser, Dr. Layla Salek, Dr. Lise Deguire, Ulanda Mtamba, Kim Phuc Phan Thi, Simone Dinnerstein, Cynthia Changyit Levin, Dr. Bernadette Lahai, Emily Rivers, Jodee Blanco, Rose Carmen Goldberg

Any profits made from The Challenges We Faced; The Women We Became will be donated to Amnesty International.

In 1969, Bernice Sandler was finishing her doctorate in education at the University of Maryland, teaching part-time at the university, and trying to secure a full-time position.

Despite her excellent credentials, it became clear she wasn't even being considered. But why? she wondered. Let's face it, a male colleague said, you come on too strong for a woman. Those fateful words brought sex discrimination home for Sandler. Facing it herself, front and center in her own workplace, meant she could no longer be ambivalent about women's rights. She could no longer buy the media coverage of feminists as man-hating, abrasive, and unfeminine. But what could she do?

Sandler soon discovered that none of the obvious laws prohibiting discrimination covered sex discrimination in education. Sandler's work led to the passage of Title IX--making it illegal, once and for all, for a federally funded institution to discriminate against someone based on their sex, including in education. This had a profound effect on women in the workplace, in school, and in sports. Bernice Sandler and the Fight for Title IX drives home the message that it doesn't take a person with power to make a difference. More often, it takes determination. When confronted with injustice, regular people can effect change. Also included is extensive backmatter about how to be an activist, written in partnership with Know Your IX, a survivor- and youth-led project of Advocates for Youth that aims to empower students to end sexual and dating violence in their schools.

Now adapted for readers ages 12 and up, the award-winning biography that examines Rosa Parks's life and 60 years of radical activism and brings the civil rights movement in the North and South to life

The basis for the documentary of the same name executive produced by award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien, now streaming on Peacock. The documentary is the recepient of the 2022 Television Academy Honors Award.

A Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of 2021 Selection - A Kirkus Reviews Best YA Biography and Memoir of 2021 Selection

Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known Americans today, but much of what is known and taught about her is incomplete, distorted, and just plain wrong. Adapted for young people from the NAACP Image Award-winning The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert shatter the myths that Parks was meek, accidental, tired, or middle class. They reveal a lifelong freedom fighter whose activism began two decades before her historic stand that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and continued for 40 years after. Readers will understand what it was like to be Parks, from standing up to white supremacist bullies as a young person to meeting her husband, Raymond, who showed her the possibility of collective activism, to her years of frustrated struggle before the boycott, to the decade of suffering that followed for her family after her bus arrest. The book follows Parks to Detroit, after her family was forced to leave Montgomery, Alabama, where she spent the second half of her life and reveals her activism alongside a growing Black Power movement and beyond.

Because Rosa Parks was active for 60 years, in the North as well as the South, her story provides a broader and more accurate view of the Black freedom struggle across the twentieth century. Theoharis and Colbert show young people how the national fable of Parks and the civil rights movement--celebrated in schools during Black History Month--has warped what we know about Parks and stripped away the power and substance of the movement. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks illustrates how the movement radically sought to expose and eradicate racism in jobs, housing, schools, and public services, as well as police brutality and the over-incarceration of Black people--and how Rosa Parks was a key player throughout.

Rosa Parks placed her greatest hope in young people--in their vision, resolve, and boldness to take the struggle forward. As a young adult, she discovered Black history, and it sustained her across her life. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks will help do that for a new generation.

Grateful American Book Prize Book of Honorable Mention

As a teenager, Mary Edwards Walker determined she would no longer wear the confining corsets and long skirts society dictated women wear at the time and instead opted for pants with a short skirt, setting the stage for her lifelong controversial efforts to change expectations. One of the first women to earn a degree in medicine, Walker championed women's rights, social justice, and access to health care. She became a Civil War surgeon and a spy, who was captured and arrested by the Confederacy, and she is still the only woman to have been awarded the Medal of Honor.

Written by young adult author Sara Latta, I Could Not Do Otherwise teaches readers about Walker's determination and strength of conviction, as well as her complete disregard of what others thought of her unconventional style. The slogan, women's rights are human rights is a direct descendent of Walker's words: The recognition of the individuality of woman, is simply an acknowledgement of human rights, which all human beings have guaranteed them, by the fact of their having an existence. I Could Not Do Otherwise brings to light an amazing historical figure who broke gender norms and fought for issues that are still relevant today.

At that time in the United States, a woman was considered subservient to her husband, who gained all his wife's wealth upon marriage. Women had no claim to their children and were considered runaway slaves if they left an abusive man. In contrast, Haudenosaunee society provided a shining example of what is possible when women are treated with respect. Read how early activists forged a path to women's equal rights using the ideals of their Indigenous neighbors.

The daughter of Japanese immigrants, Michi Nishiura Weglyn was confined in Arizona's Gila River concentration camp during World War II. She later became a costume designer for Broadway and worked as the wardrobe designer for some of the most popular television personalities of the '50s and early '60s.

In 1968, after a televised statement by the US Attorney General that concentration camps in America never existed, Michi embarked on an eight-year solo quest through libraries and the National Archives to expose and account for the existence of the World War II camps where she and other Japanese Americans were imprisoned. Her research became a major catalyst for passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, in which the US government admitted that its treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II was wrong.

Thoroughly researched and intricately told, Michi Changes History is a masterful portrayal of one woman's fight for the truth--and for justice.