The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum located in La Villita on the corner of South Presa at Nueva is a welcomed addition to downtown San Antonio for learning more about the Alamo City’s rich history.

Heritage preservation

SAAACAM’s mission is to collect, preserve and share the cultural heritage of African Americans who have been an integral part of the San Antonio region since 1529. While going through certification to become a professional tour guide in San Antonio, we learned that Estevanico (also spelled Estebanico) was the first African to step foot in Texas. He and his owner, Andrés Carranza, traveled throughout Mexico and Texas, where Estevanico was an interpreter and scout. He is featured in SAAACAM’s museum along with many other notable figures, like Ella Austin, Rev. Claude Black and Hattie Briscoe, in an easy-to-follow 400-year timeline.

Oral histories

The museum’s north gallery features oral histories of key African Americans in the San Antonio region. Eugene Coleman was featured while my husband and I toured, and we were delighted to learn that he once photographed the legendary Jimi Hendrix. Coleman was one of the original staff members of Ebony and JET magazines, covering Black news in all of Texas’ major cities. As a person of color, he took pains to make sure his subjects were photographed in sufficient light so their images would be clear. Coleman mentored other Black journalists in town, including San Antonio Express-News Columnist Cary Clack.

SAAACAM’s website provides a link to a digital archive at Texas A&M-San Antonio that includes more oral histories and photographs. Scrolling through the archive, I was pleased to find an oral history of local attorney Mike Casey, who learned late in life that his great-great-grandfather, Sam McCulloch, a soldier in Texas’ war against Mexico, was Black. You may record your own legacy at an interactive video kiosk at SAAACAM.

Fiesta fun and more

If you are interested in a 90-minute African American history tour of downtown San Antonio by river barge, call (210) 437-1888 to learn about availability. Private charters are also available. SAAACAM’s Fiesta Family Blues Festival will take place at The Espee on Friday, April 8, from noon to 4 p.m. Free admission for the whole family. Tickets for the evening’s entertainment, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., are $45. The Keesha Pratt Band, Soul Man Sam, Eddie & The Allniters and Raa-Raa Zydeco will perform. Proceeds benefit SAAACAM.

Gift Shop goodies

The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. The gift shop provides a variety of books, DVDs, t-shirts, Fiesta medals and jewelry to locate the perfect prize. Sign up to receive their monthly newsletter to stay in the loop!

Denise Barkis Richter, Ph.D., has been blogging about San Antonio since June of 2010. Follow her at facebook.com/SanAntonioTourist so that you’ll never miss a post. Her love affair with the Alamo City began at Hemisfair in 1968. She moved to San Antonio in 1979 as an 18-year-old college student, and San Antonio has been home ever since. For even more ideas of fun things to do and see in San Antonio, visit Barnes & Noble, The Twig, Whole Earth Provision Co. or Nowhere Bookshop to purchase Denise’s book, “100 Things To Do in San Antonio Before You Die” . Denise completed certification to become a professional tour guide in 2019. Please contact her at sanantoniotourist at gmail dot com if you’d like for her to design/lead a fabulous San Antonio experience for you!