[1] SAHA was founded in the 1980s as increasing state censorship in South Africa threatened to obscure the struggle against human rights violations and the oppressive political regime of apartheid.

[2] The MDM was composed of a variety of anti-apartheid activist organisations including the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

In 1987 the Popular History Trust (PHT) in Harare, Zimbabwe, began collecting material from South African political organisations.

[6] PHT provided a safe location outside of South Africa where the future archival material of SAHA could be protected while remaining accessible.

During the 1990s SAHA was primarily concerned with making the archive responsive to the growing number of post-apartheid researchers and with collecting documents in danger of destruction.

SFJP activates the archive through publications, educational guidebooks for schools and teacher workshops, as well as through physical, traveling and online exhibitions.

PAIA has made it possible to access information held by the state or by private bodies, but in the latter case, only if needed to protect or exercise another right.

Over the course of 2014 to 2015 FOIP, through a PAIA request, gained access to the closed section 29 hearing transcripts of the TRC; making these records part of SAHA's collection.

[14] To mark its 100th year of publication in 2006, the Sunday Times embarked on a project to erect a trail of memorials across South Africa to commemorate some of the remarkable people and events that made history from 1906 to 2006.

Subjects include but are not limited to Happyboy Mgxaji, Mohandas Gandhi, Duma Nokwe, Tsietsi Mashinini, Brenda Fassie, Bethuel Mokgosinyana and the Orlando Pirates, Lilian Ngoyi, John Vorster Square and death in detention, Isaac Wauchope and the sinking of the SS Mendi and the Purple March.

[16] These include significant collections relating to the anti-apartheid struggle, the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

SAHA's collections consists of a variety of material including documents, posters, photographs, oral history recordings, music, and other ephemera.