His research focuses on the history of student and teacher activism, grassroots educational programs, and segregated high schools during the civil rights movement. His book, The Freedom Schools: A History of Student Activists on the Frontlines of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement (Columbia University Press, 2016) examines the role of educational activism during the Civil Rights Movement. He is a co-editor of The Freedom School Newspapers: Writings, Essays and Reports from Student Activists During the Civil Rights Movement, (University Press of Mississippi, 2015). Dr. Hale currently serves as the executive director of the Charleston Freedom School, co-director of the Quality Education Project, faculty advisor to student chapters of the South Carolina Education Association, and Vice-Chair of the Burke High School Improvement Council in Charleston. Follow him on Twitter @jnhale2.