The Through Sleet’s Eyes Fest returned Friday with a major focus on jazz, and the sold-out event featured powerful poetry, art, and music from local residents and Owensboro natives.
Event Organizer Emmy Woosley said that for the second year of the festival, the committee wanted to expand on Moneta Sleet Jr.’s legacy by focusing on one of his most documented areas: jazz.
“So some of Moneta’s most prolific work is of jazz musicians and these jazz giants. We, as a committee, thought we should tie this in and showcase this art form that Moneta loved,” Woosley said.
The event at the RiverPark Center still included the free viewing of panels and a photo gallery unveiled last year, followed by the ticketed jazz showcase.
Jazz had a layered history with the Civil Rights movement, and Woosley said much like jazz, the Civil Rights movement didn’t end with any real resolution.
“Jazz does not resolve, and we as a committee feel like the work that began in the Civil Rights movement isn’t over. We want to do our small part to help make sure that we are coming together as a people and as a community,” she said.
The event infused jazz with spoken word from local poets Kali Speaks and Cocoa Flow and a slew of Sleet’s work with a brief explanation on each photo.
While the jazz played, WBKR personality Mary Katherine Maddox performed a live sketch of motivational quotes she heard throughout the night from speakers and audience members.
Music was provided by the Jason Tiemann Trio based out of New York City — with the namesake being an Owensboro native. Woosley said they tried to transform the dinner into a listening room for all the guests.
“The listening room is so unlike anything else we’ve had in Owensboro. It’s really brought together this unique cross-section of people from our community, and we’ve got every walk of life sitting in this room,” she said.
Tiemann said this was his first time performing in Owensboro in 2012 since he left the state to head to New York City. He was grateful to be included in the festivities.
“Having been a kid that grew up in this environment and played in the marching band at Daviess County High School, to come back and perform is really a tremendous honor for me,” he said.
Woosley said while she doesn’t know what’s next for the festival committee, she hopes there is a way the community can continue to honor Sleet’s legacy in the future.
Sleet made history with his Pulitzer Prize win in Photojournalism in 1969; he was the first Black person to win the award in journalism. Sleet was born in Owensboro in 1926 and attended Western High School, the segregated school for Black students.
Sleet went on to work for “Amsterdam News,” “Our World Magazine,” and eventually “Ebony” and “Jet” magazines in 1955. That led to him photographing countries throughout the globe and eventually working closely with Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
While working with King, Sleet documented much of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and even King’s funeral, which resulted in Sleet’s monumental Pulitzer win.
