The museum’s permanent collection focuses on works of African American art, in keeping with NC Central's identity as a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). There are also some works of African art. In general, the museum’s collection reflects the diversity of style, technique, media, and subject matter necessary for teaching African American art history and traditional art history courses within the Department of Art. The museum’s annual schedule of activities includes temporary exhibits of works from other museums, various retrospectives, and faculty and student art shows.