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Burnett Roth Collection, 1930-2001

 

Summary

Extent:
11 boxes 7 Banker File Boxes 2 Tall Legal Size Document Cases 1 Small Flat Box 1 Large Flat Box
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains correspondence, memos, court dockets, news clippings, and meeting notes related to the Anti-defamation League (ADL). Mr. Roth was member of the National Board of Trustees of the B'Nai B'Rith Foundation of the United States; Vice-Chairman of the National Civil Rights Committee; Chairman of the Florida Regional Board of the ADL. His relationship with the ADL began in 1931 and continued through the 1990s. Additionally, this collection contains correspondence, photos, clippings, and ephemera from Burnett Roth's personal life. This includes material related to his education, military service during World War II, his career as an attorney in Miami, business ventures, and political offices. Some material related to his immediate family is included. Of special interest are notes compiled by Mr. Roth for an intended book about the history of Jewry in Florida.

Biographical / historical:

Burnett Roth was born June 13, 1912 in Newark, New Jersey (due to the hospital in his family's home of Daytona being closed during the summer). He was raised in Daytona and Orlando, and he graduated from Orlando High School in 1930. In 1934 he graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in law. He subsequently attented the New York University (NYU) School of International Finance. He was briefly employed by the NRA (National Recovery Act of the New Deal) and the Resettlement Administration. He moved to Miami in 1936 to practice law. As one of only a few hundred Jews in the Miami area during the late 1930s, he experienced and witnessed a surge of anti-semitism. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and had risen to the rank of Master Sergeant at the time of his discharge in 1945. He was stationed at Camp Blanding, Florida for the duration. During the 1950s Mr. Roth was a member of the Miami Beach City Commission, as well as serving for a period of time as Vice-Mayor. He served as president of the Miami and Miami Beach Districts of the Zionist Organization and its Emergency Council. He was the Florida State Commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States; President of the Sholem Lodge of B'nai B'rith, and General Counsel for the Florida Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty. He also served as president of the United Cerebral Palsy of Dade County. However, while he was a member of many organizations, the bulk of this collection reflects his work with the Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'Rith.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in September 1913 by Sigmund Livingston. Its sole purpose was "to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people." The ADL is an international nonprofit Jewish organization that has stated that its primary purpose is "to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike, and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens." Burnett Roth, who became an active member of the ADL, was a lawyer and activist who resided in South Florida. While practicing law, Roth became an active member in equal rights amongst not just the Jewish community, but African Americans and all races as well. The mentality was all races regardless of background should not be segregated nor discriminated against. He passed away on July 8, 2008 at the age of 96.

Acquisition information:
Donation
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Rights: In copyright. Standardized rights statement: https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/

Special Collections & University Archives provides copies of materials in our collections for private study, scholarship, or research. Patrons are responsible for determining the proper copyright holder and securing permission to publish, quote, broadcast, exhibit, or perform that work. FIU Special Collections will provide all available information about the copyright holder of materials found in our collections.

For more information please visit: https://library.fiu.edu/find/copyright/general

Location of this collection:
Florida International University
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami
FL
33199
USA