San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM)

Founded in 2017, the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to collect, preserve, and share the cultural heritage of African Americans in San Antonio and the Southwest region of the United States. The mission is approved and adopted by the organization’s Board of Directors and is documented in SAAACAM’s official governing documents, including its bylaws and strategic planning framework. These governing documents affirm that the organization’s primary purpose is the preservation, interpretation, and public presentation of African American life, history, and culture.

SAAACAM is governed by an independent Board of Directors that provides strategic oversight and fiduciary responsibility for the organization. The Chief Executive Officer leads the organization and oversees day-to-day operations in collaboration with senior leadership and professional staff. The current organizational structure includes a Chief Administrative Officer who supervises core programmatic and operational staff, including archivists, historians, program staff, and community engagement personnel. Additional specialized staff and contractors support development, communications, collections documentation, storytelling, and capital campaign activities.

The organization maintains a professional staff responsible for archival collections, historical research, exhibitions, public programs, education initiatives, and community partnerships. This structure supports SAAACAM’s mission to steward historical collections while delivering public programming and interpretive experiences that engage diverse audiences.

SAAACAM serves the greater San Antonio region and the broader Southwest region of the country. When Bexar County (the home of San Antonio) was established the borders stretched into New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas and Colorado. Our work extends into those areas as well as Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The museum’s primary audiences include African American residents, students and educators, historians, researchers, and visitors interested in African American history and culture. San Antonio is one of the most diverse cities in the United States, and SAAACAM’s work reflects the city’s multicultural population and long history of African American contributions to civic, cultural, military, and economic life. Through its archival collections, exhibitions, oral history initiatives, and educational programming, SAAACAM provides opportunities for residents and visitors to engage with historical narratives that have historically been underrepresented in traditional historical institutions.

Founded to address the absence of a dedicated institution preserving African American history in San Antonio, SAAACAM has evolved into a leading community-centered archive and museum.   Individuals are empowered to curate their own archives and cultivate a community-driven museum of digitized, audiovisual exhibits. The organization has built a growing archival collection documenting the lives, achievements, and experiences of African descendants in the region. These collections include photographs, documents, oral histories, and historical artifacts that provide critical insight into local and regional history. The museum also collaborates with community historians, educators, and cultural organizations to expand access to these materials and to support historical research.

SAAACAM is a member of the Association of African American Museums, the American Alliance of Museums, the American Association for State and Local History, Texas Association of Museums, the North American Reciprocal Museum Program and the Oral History Association.