The fonds consists of books and other materials about Black people in history and contemporary society which Roy States collected from his teenage years to the end of his life. The materials are primarily English-language works produced during his lifetime, and the majority of them are from Canada or the United States. The physically largest series within the collection (Series B, Monographs) consists of 679 published volumes, most of them books and a smaller number of them booklets. These volumes are all catalogued individually, with a common sublocation of "Roy States Collection" within Rare Books and Special Collections. The remaining series contain a diversity of published, ephemeral, and unpublished materials, including various items by or about Roy States himself. Series A is a group of biographical materials and other items which relate directly to States. Series C consists of booklets and brochures. Series D consists of complete issues of newspapers, and Series E consists of complete issues of serials other than newspapers. Series F contains an assortment of newspaper and magazine clippings, as well as reprinted or photocopied extracts from books, journals and other works. Series G contains materials relating to conferences and meetings, chiefly involving groups and organizations advocating for civil rights; the materials include programs, agendas, minutes and reports, as well as the text of various speeches presented at these events. Series H consists primarily of graphic materials which have been mounted in cardboard-and-plastic display sleeves or in glass-fronted wooden frames. Series I is a group of miscellaneous materials such as studies, reports, typescripts, bibliographies and leaflets.

This series is a group of materials relating specifically to the life of Roy States.

This subseries consists of one volume and two objects. The volume is a photo album with brown covers and plastified adhesive pages containing a collection of clippings, photographs and other documents. It is titled "The life and times of Roy Wellington States, volume II". There is no corresponding "volume I" which is explicitly labeled as such in the collection. The two objects are a framed certificate, signed by Governor General of Canada Jules Léger, which accompanied the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal presented to States, and an engraved brass plaque, mounted on wood, presented to States by the National Black Coalition of Canada.

The photo album contains a range of materials, most of which pertain to Roy States. These materials include: a) photographic prints taken at the retirement party for States held on September 8, 1969 at the Sergeant's Mess of the Longue Pointe military base; b) photographic prints taken at a celebrity dinner held on June 28, 1974 in Montreal, whose head table guests included Roy States, American boxer Muhammad Ali, Quebec Ministers Jérôme Choquette and Victor Goldbloom and Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau; c) clippings of newspaper columns and articles by and about States, including the biographical article "Roy States spreads facts about Blacks" by Lou Seligson which was published in the April 4, 1973 issue of the Montreal Star and which includes a portrait of States drawn by Seligson; d) an article describing a visit by States to New Glasgow after an absence of 20 years, in July 1972; e) materials pertaining to States' involvement in the Royal Canadian Legion's fundraising Poppy campaign; f) a photocopy of a letter dated January 31, 1973, from Verdun resident David H.E. Garon addressed to Member of Parliament Stanley Knowles, proposing that States be appointed to the Canadian Senate in recognition of his good works; g) a photocopy of Knowles' response to Garon which expresses doubts that "the old parties" would make the kinds of appointments which Garon suggests; h) numerous clippings and letters pertaining to the First Annual National Black Awards Day Dinner, which was held in Toronto March 17, 1973 by the National Black Coalition of Canada, and at which States was one of the ten award recipients; i) clippings pertaining to the Second Annual National Black Awards Day Dinner, held on April 20th, 1974 by the National Black Coalition of Canada; j) clippings and letters pertaining to the participation of States as a guest speaker at the Affirmative Action Conference which was held in New Glasgow, N.S., on November 24, 1973, and which was sponsored by the Pictou County Council of Churches and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission; k) clippings pertaining to the Black Cultural Expo Week held August 11-18, 1974 in Nova Scotia, which States attended; l) clippings relating to the Black community in Montreal and in Canada, some of them newspaper pieces written by States.

This subseries consists of assorted documents pertaining to the life and work of Roy States. When the Roy States collection was donated to Rare Books and Special Collections, many of the ephemeral materials were initially placed into individual envelopes or folders, were given individual identification codes, and were listed in the printed finding aid for the collection. In a later processing stage, the envelopes whose contents related most directly to States were assembled into a group and housed in a dedicated box. These reboxed materials now form subseries 02 of Series A. A particularly important biographical item in the subseries is the "Resumé of experience and activity" binder which States complied.