Formed in 2000, the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center's (CRHC) mission is "to preserve the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and the history of racial struggles and extraordinary achievements of local citizens." First housed in IU South Bend's Wiekamp Hall, CRHC student staff and volunteers conducted research on the African American civil rights experience in and around South Bend, Indiana. They began an extensive Oral History collection, produced several published thesis projects, and identified and acquired important archival materials of several prominent people, including Helen Pope (for whom a scholarship at IU South Bend is named after), Jesse Dickinson (African American Indiana state legislator), Dr. Bernard Streets (one of the first African American dentists), and others.

Perhaps the defining moment was the re-opening the former Engman Natatorium, a once segregated swimming pool on the west side of South Bend, Indiana. Beginning circa 2005, the CRHC led various partners from IU South Bend, South Bend Heritage Foundation, and the City of South Bend to transform the dilapidated building into a new home for the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Opened in May 2010, the CRHC offers tours of local Civil Rights History, exhibitions (permanent and temporary), lecture series, and other programming. There are a number of noted IU South Bend faculty and administrators responsible for the formation and continued operation of the CRHC, including Dr. Les Lamon, Dr. Monica Tetzlaff, Dr. Kevin Lamarr James (all former directors of the CRHC), Alfred Guillaume (former Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs), and the late David Healey (Master of Arts student).

This collection consists of the institutional materials related to the various projects and programs of the CRHC. For example, meeting notes, personal letters, e-mail print-outs, promotional materials, and articles covering the formation and continued efforts of the Civil Rights Heritage Center and the transformation of the Engman Natatorium. It also includes research papers on South Bend civil rights history by the late David Healey. The collection begins in 2000, and materials are continually added to it.