Dr. Chandra Salaam CEO

  Dr. Salaam is the founder  and CEO of the African American History & Culture Foundation, a Long Beach, California-based public charitable non-profit organization. She officially established the AAHCF when she retired from the LBUSD in 2014. Her formative years was in Long Beach where she was nurtured for leadership within the school community and that led to a life of service. Upon graduating from Long Beach Poly High School and inspired to serve humanity, she earned her B.A. in Human Services with emphasis in Childhood and Adolescents, and M.A. with honors in Education from CSU Dominguez Hills. Later Dr. Salaam earned her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Clark Atlanta University where she was taught to use the HBCU's intellectual inheritance to serve under-represented communities  and help to solve systemic problems.

  With a career expanding more than forty years in education (preschool  to university), Dr. Salaam has worked in public and private schools in Memphis Tennessee, Los Angeles and Compton California, and the last twenty years in Long Beach California where she retired.The positions that she held in addition to Community Liaison, were Principal, Teacher and Counselor. In performing her core responsibilities as a counselor, she guided over eight thousands students to on -time graduations and careers of their choice. 

  In 2006 she pledged to help create a college-going-culture to close the achievement  and economic gaps between African American students and others by establishing affordable student tours to 60 out of state and 15 in state  colleges, three U.S. Capital and Supreme Court excursions that included cultural institutions in thirteen states and the District of Columbia.These experiences met the AAHCF's objective to-expand the participant's civic responsibilities and patriotic identity. Also under her leadership, the AAHCF programs have raised over $50,000 need and merit based scholarships for Independent Black School and Special Needs students. 

  Furthermore, Dr. Salaam and the AAHCF have prepared students to be global citizens matriculating in China, Egypt, and India. Personally she believes that to travel is education and have traveled to China, South Africa, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, The Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii in order to understand the transmission of indigenous and colonial cultures. In acknowledging her collective work when receiving awards she quotes the 100 Black Men of Long Beach - " She specializes in peeling away adversity and discovering the genius within inner-city youth."

  In 2006 she also created the first AAHCF's Mobile Museum Exposition at the Boys and Girls club in order to correct false narratives and stereotypes by highlighting inspirational leaders and their contributions to society throughout the year. In conclusion, for four decades Dr. Salaam has assisted with community initiatives in order to meet the diverse needs of students and families and has collaborated with many others in order to build the self confidence of youth and families within a climate of high expectations.

                        "COVID-19 is a tragic reality. God willing, we shall overcome."

         The African American History & Culture Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit Organization