Moneta Sleet Jr. received his first camera (a box version) as a child, but professional photography wouldn’t become a calling until he went to college at Western Kentucky State College when he switched majors to photography.

After World War II, he continued his studies in New York and received a master’s degree in journalism from NYU. His career would begin to really take flight when Moneta joined Ebony magazine in 1955.

As a journalist, it is a core expectation that cool objectivity rule the way news stories and photos are presented. But this was not a belief shared by Moneta. He once said, “I wasn’t there as an objective reporter, I had something to say and was trying to show one side of it. We didn’t have any problems finding the other side.”

Selma to Montgomery March (1965)

During the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, Moneta claimed to have walked 100 miles during the 50 mile stretch since he continuously walked back and forth along the line of marchers.

Besides covering major events, Moneta captured the images of many black celebrities and other important figures of color. The images of people he has captured included Patti Labelle, Eartha Kitt, Muhammed Ali, Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie, Stevie Wonder, among others.

Photo of Dr. King’s 5-year old
daughter, Bernice, laying on
her mother’s lap.

But there was one photo that made Moneta a recognized and honored figure nationwide. In 1968, after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Ms. Coretta Scott King demanded that Moneta Sleet Jr. be allowed to cover her husband’s funeral after learning that no black photographers had been selected to cover the event. It was the haunting photo of Dr.

King’s 5-year old daughter Bernice laying on her mother’s lap and looking into the camera that captured the nation’s attention. For this, Moneta was recognized with the 1969 Pulitzer Prize award for Feature Photography.

He continued to work well into his later years and passed away in 1996 at the age of 70 shortly after covering the Olympics for his long-time employer Ebony magazine.

References:

_{Fraser, C. Gerald. “The Vision of Moneta Sleet in Show” (October 19, 1986). Retrieved on December 11, 2017.}

_{Thomas Jr, Robert Mcg. “Moneta Sleet Jr., 70, Civil Rights Era Photographer, Dies” (October 2, 1996). Retrieved on December 11, 2017.}