Our Mission
For I am my mother's daughter, and the drums of Africa still beat in my heart.– Mary McLeod Bethune
The Society's mission is to educate African Americans and the public at large about the history and culture of San Francisco's African American community. The Society accomplishes its mission by:
- documenting, preserving and presenting true accounts of the African American experience;
- providing a forum for the discussion and analysis of relevant local, national and international issues,
- encouraging, fostering and promoting the study and appreciation of African and African American history and culture
- and by instilling in African Americans, especially African American youth, a sense of pride in themselves and their heritage.
Annually, the Society offers a wide range of interpretive programs, exhibits, scholarly forums, tours, research projects, cultural performances and publications to approximately 3,000 visitors of all ages and ethnicities.
Our research library and archives contain approximately 1,000 books by or about African Americans, more than 500 rare books and pamphlets, and archival material, including unique collections such as the "Blacks in the West" monograph series and "The Walking Tour of the Black Presence in San Francisco During the Nineteenth Century"*, both sponsored by the Society. The library also houses the Howard Thurman Listening Room, containing audio tapes of meditations and sermons, television scripts, correspondence, autographed books and other memorabilia of one of the 20th Century's foremost theologians and his awesome partner, Sue Bailey Thurman.
The Society’s premier program is the annual city-wide observance of Black History Month, during which the Society takes the lead to kick off the month with a celebration and speech about the theme as selected by ASALH (the organization that with Carter G. Woodson established Black History Month.)