National History Day

We always enjoy hearing from students engaged in historical research about Dr. King and the African American Freedom Struggle. Over the years we have supported many students' research projects for the National History Day competition. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to respond to all the research requests we receive.  If you or your classroom is conducting research we suggest consulting our resources before sending individual requests. Our website offers some of the best primary and secondary sources available and we hope the process of discovering new information and ideas about the past and present is a meaningful one.

We recommend the following resources for your historical research project:

• The King Encyclopedia
  We suggest starting with the King Encyclopedia to gain background knowledge about your topic. Each Encyclopedia entry includes primary sources to help deepen your understanding of the topic.
• Featured Documents
  After gaining historical background knowledge and context, explore the Featured Documents for additional primary sources.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Chronology
  ​This secondary source will help you to understand the sequence of events related to your topic. Again, you will find links to primary sources.

Please remember that the King Institute is only one of many historical resources available to you. Be sure to cite all your sources accurately. We hope your research process is inspiring and challenging.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at kinginstitute@stanford.edu.

Good luck with your project!