Visit Us At The Washington Pavilion
301 S. Main Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
The museum chronicles early African American history in South Dakota, including the Lewis and Clark expedition where a man named York was instrumental. It also tells the story of a woman known as Aunt Sally who became one of the first Black women in South Dakota.
It also introduces Oscar Micheaux, the first African American filmmaker in the United States and one of few Black settlers in South Dakota at the time. The family had a homestead near Gregory.
Find out about more stories like these here.
President & CEO
Zechariah Van Harris III
South Dakota African American History Museum Founder
Porter Williams
Former Executive Directors
Laura Renée Chandler, PhD
Julian Beaudion
Carl Tear
Bob Harris
Former Board Members
Harriet Yocum
Inkka Beaudion
Mark Blackburn
Vaney Hariri
Jolene Loetscher
We Are Actively Recruiting Board Members For The Future!
To foster a greater appreciation for the perseverance of African Americans in South Dakota through educational exhibits, community events, outreach, and preserving and documenting the history.
South Dakota African American History Museum is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to ensuring that we recruit board members needed to ensure maximum impact. South Dakota African American History Museum strives to support and promote excellence in our programs and services. Our board should be the premier source of cutting-edge thinking and utilize resources related to our nonprofit for optimum operation and governance.
Our board members champion the importance of exceptional leadership and believe that our organization needs a strong and effective board to fully realize its potential for good. In addition to the standard roles and responsibilities of a board member, our board members are active advocates and ambassadors for our organization and are fully engaged in identifying and securing the financial resources and partnerships necessary for the South Dakota African American History Museum to advance its mission.
Historical Museum / Education / Arts and Entertainment
Volunteer Board Member (Advocacy Expertise)
Advocacy
Volunteer (Board Member)
South Dakota African American History Museum, seeks a board member with experience in Museum Management, Art, Finance, Real Estate, Law, Education, Banking, or Entrepreneurship and a personal commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
The board of the South Dakota African American History Museum is a volunteer board. Members are not paid and dedicate their time and expertise to support the South Dakota African American History Museum and its mission and collective purpose.
We expect each board member to:
We are looking for mission-aligned individuals with expertise in one or more of the following areas:
We know that to achieve our goals, fulfill our mission, and realize our vision, we need to include individuals with perspectives drawn from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, skill sets, areas of expertise, and lived experiences to help us avoid decision-making that could diminish the impact of our work.
We are publicly recruiting for board positions to ensure that we move beyond our immediate networks and honor our ongoing commitment to creating a board that is diverse in its composition, inclusive in its culture, and equity-focused in its approach to how it views its mission, its work, and the communities it serves.
It’s very easy to think that there isn’t an established history of African-Americans here in South Dakota, but there is. The earliest instance that we know of, that’s documented, goes back to the early 19th century, and so when we talk about this history, and we educate people about this history, we’re learning about ourselves and about our collective history.
Laura Renée Chandler, PhD
There have been great Directors that have came before me and I am so excited to continue pushing the narrative forward. I am focused on building bridges and knocking down silos in the Upper Midwest and beyond. We are building something that will transcend generations and improve African American stories throughout America.
Zechariah “Zach” Van Harris III