Ron Sherman photographs

The collection consists of photographs taken by Atlanta photographer Ron Sherman, including images documenting Southern politics, business, and culture from 1970-2022. There are 747 silver gelatin prints from 1970 to 1988. Political figures depicted include Jimmy Carter, Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young, Julian Bond, George Wallace, Lester Maddox, Shirley Chisholm, Sargent Shriver, and others. There also a number of photographs of Coretta Scott King at civil rights events and the groundbreaking of the King historic site in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1975 along with a number of photographs from the United States Conference of Mayors meeting in Atlanta in 1971. Other events depicted include a 1971 Ku Klux Klan rally at Stone Mountain; the 1974 baseball game at which Hank Aaron hit the record-breaking home run number 715; the 1973 Atlanta Tennis Classic; the 1971 court-martial of My Lai massacre participant Ernest Medina; the 1972 fire and refinery-tank farm explosion in Doraville, Georgia; and other Atlanta-area events.

Many of the public figures and events are also depicted in the 273,678 negatives, 7,910 contact sheets, 142,800 slides, and 39,675 digital files. Also included are images documenting general life in Atlanta and across the United States and images of animals and nature. The collection also has correspondence, appointment books, phone call record books, and printed material featuring Sherman's work.