NEWS FROM DIRECTOR

Charmaine Jefferson, Executive Director, California African American Museum

FROM THE DIRECTOR...

Happy New Year, Happy Spring!

2012 was a year of great accomplishments at the California African American
Museum—achieved despite challenging economic times on a wish, a prayer and a
great team of staff and volunteers AND supporters like you! Here we protect our
art, history and culture as the treasured assets that they are. We make wishes come
true with great exhibitions, workshops, live performances, and guest speakers. We
have never wavered in our commitment to give back to the community through
youth employment training, catalogue releases, literacy promotion and cross-cultural
exchanges. From the elders who come here to the visitors of the next generation—all
must have access to participate in the richness of our artistic offerings, monumental
history and the deep diversity of our culture—regardless of income, ethnicity or
socioeconomic status... a primary reason why admission to CAAM is and always
has been FREE to the Public!

What our members and patrons do all year long is provide fuel for all our dreams. Your support means you, personally, want to keep the art, culture and history alive and important for all who come into our State.
As this New Year arrives, our country stands poised to make history again as we inaugurate, for a second term, a man of African descent to be THE leader of the United States… and in the year of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” prophecy. Regardless of your political affiliation, our entire nation can stand with even more pride as we are collectively living today the great history of tomorrow… and it is this very history that is CAAM’s mission to recount and preserve for generations to come.

This is an amazing time, and we need to make sure that CAAM is and will be here to continue our mission of collection, preservation and public presentation. Black History Month is almost here to lead us into the renewal of spring. Plant the seeds and renew your support for CAAM today. Personal donations—gifts large or small—
and your membership renewals will help make your museum wishes come true. What we accomplished in 2012 can be elevated to new heights with laughing children at the workshops, engaged students at all educational levels, and parents happy there is a cultured, sheltered haven where all can join in the festivities.

Thank you always for your support of CAAM.