Forrest E. Slaughter was born April 21, 1922 in Topeka, Kansas to Samuel E. and Corrine McDowell Slaughter. He married Jacquelyn Tayor in St. Louis on March 6, 1984. Together they had three children: a daughter, Felicia, and two sons, Frederick and Stacey.

Slaughter attended Topeka public schools and Washburn University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1949. During World War II, he served with the United States Army in the European theatre of operations, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. In 1954, he received a Master of Music Education with an emphasis in music therapy from the University of Kansas. A talented musician, he played piano with bands in Topeka, Kansas City, and Los Angeles, California, composed musical scores, and operated a jazz club in Topeka.

Slaughter divided his professional career between music therapy and education administration. He worked as a music therapist at the Topeka State Hospital and at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka. In 1971, he joined the administrative staff of Topeka Unified School District 501, serving as Assistant Superintendent of Community Relations from 1975 until his retirement in 1985. During this period, he formed the Committee for Better Minority Education and the Community Advisory Committee on Education, two unique mechanisms that improved communication between the school district and the community. He was a member of the National Association of Black Educators and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Forrest E. Slaughter died on May 9, 1995.