MoAD opened in its current location at 685 Mission Street, adjacent to the St. Regis Museum Tower. The museum's mission centers on the idea that the African diaspora is not just African American history but a global phenomenon, encompassing the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and beyond. Exhibitions feature emerging and established artists who explore themes of race, identity, migration, and cultural preservation. The museum's intimate scale, with approximately 9,000 square feet of exhibition space, allows for focused, curated shows that would be lost in a larger institution.

MoAD's exhibitions have included photography, painting, sculpture, textile art, and multimedia installations that address the African diaspora's full emotional range: joy, grief, resilience, creativity, and resistance. The museum has featured works by Carrie Mae Weems, Kara Walker, and Mickalene Thomas alongside lesser-known artists whose work illuminates overlooked aspects of the diaspora experience. The programming extends beyond visual art to include talks, films, community events, and educational workshops that position the museum as a gathering space for dialogue as much as for viewing.

MoAD's location in the South of Market district, near the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, places it within the city's cultural core. This positioning is intentional: the museum's founders believed that the African diaspora story deserved a home among San Francisco's major cultural institutions, not in a separate or secondary location. In a city whose African American population has declined significantly since the 1970s due to displacement and rising costs, MoAD serves as both a cultural anchor and a reminder of the community's enduring presence and contributions.