In this opinion piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sheffield Hale discusses the role that the Atlanta History Center plays in interpreting historical events from the past in order to better understand the present and America's democratic ideals, especially as it relates to socio-political issues including economics, race and politics.
The Atlanta History Center is launching a five-year plan of scholarship, programs and exhibits to help citizens focus on repairing the nation's fractured democracy in time for its 250th birthday. Democracy will be central to the program's research, scholarship and storytelling, said the Center's President Sheffield Hale.
With the opening of its new national headquarters in Atlanta, Norfolk Southern has donated a large archive of railway history to the Atlanta History Center. Sheffield Hale sees this important piece of Atlanta history as an opportunity to tell important stories many would be unaware of.
Sheffield Hale offers some words on the new Responding Heroes exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, calling it an event that 'changed the history of this entire country' and 'an extraordinary time for ordinary people who became heroes.' The Center is offering free admission Sunday, Sept. 12 to police, firefighters, first responders and their families. The exhibit will run through Sunday, Oct. 17.
In this article covering recent discussions about the Stone Mountain Memorial, an outline of its history and future is told against the backdrop of past and present discussions on race and equality. “If it wasn’t for Brown v. Board of Education, it would never have been finished,” said Sheffield Hale, president & CEO of the Atlanta History Center, noting that efforts to revive the monument's creation were accelerated during the Civil rights era.
