Known for Photography Children Gregory M. Sleet | Role Photographer Name Moneta Jr. | |
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Born February 14, 1926 ( 1926-02-14 ) Died September 30, 1996, Baldwin, New York, United States Books Special moments in African-American history, 1955-1996 | ||
Moneta Sleet, Jr.: Kentucky State University Fine Arts Legacy
Moneta J. Sleet Jr. (February 14, 1926 - September 30, 1996) won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his photograph of Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King, at Dr. King's funeral. Sleet is the first African-American man to win the Pulitzer, and the first African American to win award for journalism. He died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 70.
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Moneta Sleet Jr "Deep Sorrow"
Early life and education
Sleet was born in Owensboro, Kentucky. He was editor of the school newspaper at Western High School, his alma mater. He graduated cum laude from Kentucky State College (now Kentucky State University), a historically black college, in 1947 and went on to obtain a master's degree in journalism from New York University.
Ebony magazine
Sleet began working for Ebony magazine in 1955. Over the next 41 years, he captured photos of young Muhammad Ali, Dizzy Gillespie, Stevie Wonder, and Billie Holiday. Besides his photo of Coretta Scott King, he also captured grieving widow Betty Shabazz at the funeral of Malcolm X. His collection Special Moments in African American History: The photographs of Moneta Sleet Jr. 1955-1996 was published posthumously in 1999.
Personal life
Moneta Sleet is the father of Gregory M. Sleet, a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Moneta Sleet, while a resident of Baldwin, NY, died of cancer at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center on September 30, 1996.
