[1][2] Hadley was born in 1936 and grew up near Thomasville at Pebble Hill, a former cotton plantation in Thomas County, Georgia.

[4] After graduating from high school, he joined the United States Air Force, where he worked with supplies and logistics.

The family moved back to Thomasville and Hadley started working for the United States Postal Service, until his retirement in 1997.

[6] In 2018, Thomas University awarded him an honorary bachelor's degree in business administration, in recognition of his work in the Air Force and the community.

[7] Hadley began collecting newspaper clippings on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, and in the late 1970s, while he was stationed in Germany, he helped his son with a schoolproject about black history.

[17] The museum successfully advocated the creation of a commemorative postage stamp for Flipper, as well as naming a Thomasville post office after him.

[6] Hadley said in 2022 "The most important piece that makes me feel good is when kids walk through that double doors on the side and use the word 'WOW,' then I know we made a big difference.

The museum has made efforts to provide educational resources virtually, and has been granted CARES Act money for this purpose.

[19][20][21] In September, the museum cooperated with 4 other Thomasville organizations in creating a photo contest for students in Thomas County.

[21] Following the attention garnered by the 2018 film Green Book, Hadley involved himself in an attempt to restore the Imperial Hotel, a Thomasville building included in The Negro Travelers' Green Book, a travel guide for African-Americans listing places that would not refuse them service.