Library Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Library will be closed all day, Monday, January 18, 2021.

As Americans across the United States will honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy with a day of service on Monday, January 18, we take a moment to reflect on Dr. King's life and message with his own words. We share with you a portion of King's celebrated "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

...Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.

~ Read and listen to Dr. King's August 28, 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech in its entirety.

Featured Book: 
I Have a Dream

[Author: Martin Luther King, Jr. with forward by Coretta Scott King.
Scholastic Press, 1997.]

King's most famous speech is handsomely interpreted in this beautiful volume which pairs his stirring words with illustrations by 15 Coretta Scott King Award- or Honor-winning artists. Taking as their inspiration King's timeless message, delivered at the famous March on Washington in the summer of 1963, the result is an uplifting glimpse at a pivotal moment in 20th-century history, the impact made more personal by the different artists' heartfelt interpretations.

Login to your Library account to reserve this book and other Library materials online. 

Login requires your library card number and your four-digit PIN (first four letters of your last name, all in lowercase letters). When your reserve books have been pulled, we will email or call you to schedule a time to pick them up either through curbside pickup or in-person visit inside the Library. 

Library Materials available about Martin Luther King Jr.: 
~ Children's Books
~ Adult Biographies and Histories
~ Audio CDs 
~ DVDs

While the Library will be closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, access is still available to our online services remotely. With an internet connection, you can access our digital collections anytime, anywhere. Browse and borrow downloadable books, audiobooks, and videos from the West Virginia Downloadable Entertainment Library Initiative (wvdeli.overdrive.com), Hoopla (hoopladigital.com), and the rbDigital Gateway.

E-books available through WV Deli and Hoopla about Martin Luther King Jr.:

All it takes to create an account and login is your library card number, four-digit PIN, and an email address and with an internet connection, you are ready to start downloading or streaming to your tablet, smartphone, anytime, anywhere. 

Following Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Library will reopen for in-person visits by appointment and curbside services on Tuesday, January 19th.

Have a safe and reverent Martin Luther King Jr. Day.