Owensboro Park Added to the Kentucky African American Heritage Trail

Governor Beshear announced today that an Owensboro park will be added to the Kentucky African American Heritage Trail. Part of an initiative to celebrate America's 250th Anniversary, ten locations were chosen because of the stories they tell. Some of those stories were previously lost to time, but now they will be honored for new generations to come.

A couple of years ago, folks from all over the United States came to Owensboro to celebrate the life and legacy of Moneta Sleet Jr. "Through Sleet's Eyes Fest" was organized by a group from Leadership Owensboro as a way to honor a man who, until the past few years, had not gotten the recognition that he so deserved.

Who is Moneta Sleet Jr.?

I learned about Mr. Sleet when I was in high school. He was added to the Owensboro High School Hall of Fame in my freshman year, and it was the first time I really learned about segregation in Owensboro. His actual alma mater was the all-black high school, Western High School. This is where he began his adventure in photojournalism. Continuing to Kentucky University and New York University, he excelled in everything he did.

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Sleet's Ebony Magazine Era

After serving in WW2, Sleet began working for Ebony magazine, taking pictures of iconic musicians and athletes like Muhammad Ali, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and other historical figures before documenting the Civil Rights Movement. Sleet traveled with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for 13 years, and we have him to thank for many moments in time that history can't forget.

Moneta Sleet Jr. Was the First Black American to Win a Pulitzer Prize for Photography

We can learn from his artistic eye and how he captured the fight for freedom with his camera. The march from Selma to Montgomery, MLK's I Have a Dream Speech in Washington, D.C., to name a couple. His most well-known photograph is a heartbreaking look at Coretta Scott King and little Bernice King at Dr. King's funeral. It is the one that earned Sleet the title of the first black American to win a Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism. Here is a great interview that shares more about that day.

Through Sleet's Eyes

The story behind Sleet's relationship with the King family, as well as how that iconic photo came to be, is truly incredible. The organizers of the Through Sleet's Eyes festival created a traveling exhibit of Moneta's work and filmed a documentary. They interviewed his counterparts through the years who respected him immensely. Not just for his talent, but his kindness.

This documentary, "Through Sleet's Eyes," created by Drew Hardesty at Wonder Boy Media, is now showing as part of an exhibit at the Owensboro Science & History Museum. Before June 21st, be sure to stop by, walk through, and give it a watch. You'll be moved that someone so important yet so kind and humble is from right here.

Moneta Sleet Jr. Park in Owensboro, KY

In 2022, the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance requested that the park be named after the iconic Owensboroan. He was born and raised near that corner, and it was fitting to honor him in this way. Updates have been made, like the addition of a Storywalk, and now it is even more special.

President of the Owensboro NAACP Michael Johnson, Exec. Director of the OHRC, Rev. Rhondalyn Randolph, and Commissioner Larry Conder all wrote letters of support for the beautiful little Moneta Sleet Jr. Park to be added to the African American Heritage Trail.