AAMP currently houses four galleries and an auditorium, each of which offers exhibitions anchored on one of three dominant themes: The African Diaspora, the Philadelphia Story, and the Contemporary Narrative.

Temporary exhibits, as well as a variety of family events, workshops, films, tours, symposiums, and concerts relating to African-American culture and history are offered.

[4] The AAMP's collection includes, among other things, flyers, memos and memorabilia related to the Philadelphia Black Panthers, correspondence clippings and military artifacts of the first black doctor to direct a U.S. Army Hospital, academic and legal papers from Harry Shapiro on constitutional issues arising from the civil rights movement, African American occupational and domestic objects, family scrapbooks, sports memorabilia, church and burial records, and artifacts from the Ku Klux Klan.

[8] In 2007, the AAMP received a $3 million grant from the city of Philadelphia for building renovations and improving displays for the museum's extensive collection.

[9][10][11] The museum closed March 9, 2009, and reopened June 18, 2009, with the unveiling of AUDACIOUS FREEDOM, a new core exhibit installation featuring the early history of African Americans in Philadelphia (1776–1876).