Although Black History Month is ending, the opportunities to learn about African American contributions to American society and culture are not.Here, for example, are some notable books about Martin Luther King, Jr., to explore in the months ahead.

Martin Luther King, Jr., by Marshall Frady (Lipper/Viking, 2002). Library Journal calls this most recent King biography a “lyrical, even poetic moral pageant.”

I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, by Michael Eric Dyson (The Free Press, 2000). Focuses especially on the later years of King’s career and seeks to rescue King from romantic mythologizing. Offers a provocative comparison of King and Tupac Shakur.

Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Stephen B. Oates (Harper, 1994). Roger Wilkins: “The thrilling story is not only full of drama, but . of the real King, his bravery, his triumph, his pain and his doubts.” Winner of the Robert Kennedy Prize.

Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. & The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, by David J. Garrow (Random House 1987). Provides a well-rounded portrayal based on 700 interviews and King’s personal writings.

Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-1963 (Simon & Schuster, 1988) and Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years: 1963-65 (Simon & Schuster, 1998), by Taylor Branch. The New York Times calls this two-volume background study “matchless.” The first volume won a Pulitzer Prize for history.