Bexar Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $5 million agreement to support operations of the new San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum downtown.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores pushed for the museum. "We are excited that we are going to have a state-of-the-art facility that talks about the history and the contribution and culture of Blacks in Bexar County."
Museum managers and supporters formally took possession of the Kress Building on Houston Street on Dec. 16 to turn it into the museum's new home.
SAAACAM Board Member Dwayne Robinson said the museum will be housed in the former five and dime store which desegrated its "whites only" lunch counters in March 1960 after local and national civil rights protests.
"This building will not only bring attention to further education people on what actually historically took place in the building," he said, "but it will also allow San Antonians and people across the state and country to better know who SAAACAM is."
Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert praised the museum's managers for taking steps to make the facility self-sustaining when it comes to funding. He said event rental space was included in the building plans, and fundraisers are ahead. Events include the sold-out Jan. 12 Legacy Awards Ball at the Witte Museum.
No date has been set for the museum's opening at the new location.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported of the county's more than two million residents, around 147,000 are Black or more than 7% of the total population.
"We talk about the percentages of Blacks in San Antonio, which some think is a small number percentage wise," Clay-Flores said. "But I always drive home the fact that we actually have a very vibrant Black community. I think we've done a lot."
During the construction of the downtown San Pedro Creek Culture Park before the COVID-19 pandemic, workers unearthed the foundation of the post-Civil War era African Methodist Episcopal Church. Its original footprint near West Commerce and Camaron Streets, behind Penner's, is preserved and adorned with historical signage.
The current museum occupies much smaller exhibit space at La Villita at 218 S. Presa. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Learn more about the Black community's history through the museum website here.
