(a) It shall be the function, power, and duty of the Black History Commission of Arkansas to assist the Arkansas History Commission and the Arkansas State Archives to:
(1) Collect, classify, and preserve, through the making of photographic copies or by other means, records, manuscripts, maps, diaries, letters, war service records, journals, and papers of historical value, pertaining to the black race in Arkansas and black Arkansans;
(2) Collect and preserve portraits, photographs, sketches, drawings, and other likenesses of eminent black Arkansans and historic places, houses, buildings, and scenes involving the black race in Arkansas;
(3) Select and publish any papers, research, and other source material on the contribution of the black race in Arkansas history which it shall deem appropriate and funds will permit;
(4) Build up and maintain a reference library of the source material on the black race in Arkansas history; and
(5) Cooperate with, and receive the cooperation of, any historical associations or any black historical associations and other nonprofit organizations devoted to the history or the black history of this state.
(b) All records, papers, archives, and historical material at any time in the possession of the Black History Commission of Arkansas, excepting such as it may have on loan, shall be and remain the property of the State of Arkansas.