With over ten million unique manuscript pieces, it holds the nation's largest collection of primary source materials in the field of ethnic history. The collections show particular strengths in education, civil rights, race relations, business, fine arts, the courts, politics, and social history. The Center also holds a magnificent collection of African-American art and a large collection of African art.
Holdings are available to the public.
Photocopying, photographic reproduction, and interlibrary loan are available, with restrictions on certain holdings. The Center also houses numerous theses, dissertations, publications, and writings on medical issues, including the important essay, The Negro in Medicine in Louisiana, by A. P. Tureaud and Dr. C. C. Haydel, 1935.