Moneta Sleet, Jr.

Moneta Sleet Jr. was born on February 14, 1926, in Owensboro, Kentucky. He received his first box camera as a child and later joined a camera club in high school. He attended Kentucky State College, where he collaborated with the dean to nurture his interest in photography by documenting on-campus events and capturing images of students.

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Sleet's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Coretta Scott King and Bernice King at Martin Luther King's funeral

From 1944 to 1946, Sleet served in the all-Black 93rd Engineers unit during World War II. After his service, he utilized the G.I. Bill to complete his undergraduate degree. He then moved to New York, where he completed a course at the School of Modern Photography, earned a master's degree in journalism from New York University, and married Juanita Harris. He initially worked as a sports journalist for The Amsterdam News. Although he had an interest in writing, he later transitioned to a role focused on photography at Our World.