On May 5, 1969, Moneta Sleet Jr. made history as the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. He earned the award for his deeply moving photograph of Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., holding their young daughter Bernice at Dr. King’s funeral. The image, captured for Ebony magazine, conveyed the pain and resilience of a grieving family and a mourning nation. Sleet’s win was not only a personal triumph but also a groundbreaking moment for Black photojournalists in a field where African Americans were historically underrepresented.
Moneta Sleet Jr.’s career spanned decades, and he was known for documenting the civil rights movement, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the March on Washington. His Pulitzer win symbolized both progress and the power of Black media voices during the era of social change.
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