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Samuel A. Portnoy (1920 - 2004) was a professor of History at Florida Atlantic University (1963-1991) in Boca Raton, Florida.  Dr. Portnoy was a native New Yorker and received his bachelor's degree and Ph.D.  from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his master's from the University of Chicago. In 1963, he began teaching history at Florida Atlantic University where he was actively involved in the planning of the University's academic program.  He was also first chairman of the Department of History at FAU.  His areas of specialization include Russian and Soviet history, 19th and 20th century European history, and Modern Jewish history. Dr. Portnoy was also a prominent lecturer, speaking on subjects of current and historic importance.  These subjects included the Middle East, the Gorbachev revolution, German unification, and select topics in modern Jewish history (Hasidism, Zionism, Jewish labor and social movements in Europe and the United States), and various aspects of Yiddish culture.  Much of his research was focused on the Jewish Labor Bund and the life of Vladimir Medem, a Russian Jewish political leader.  Portnoy's publications include articles in both Yiddish and English for the journals Labor History, Dissent, and Yiddish. He is also the editor-translator of Vladimir Medem's memoirs entitled: The Life and Soul of a Legendary Jewish Socialist and Henryk Erlich and Victor Alter – Two Heroes and Martyrs for Jewish Socialism.

Dr. Walter Wadepuhl (1895-1989) is well-known for his scholarship on German poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine. Born in Germany in 1895, he immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve. He held a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Wadepuhl was head of the Department of Languages and Comparative Literature at Elmhurst College where he also taught German for nineteen years. In 1964, he was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor of German at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Wadepuhl authored many articles and several books on Goethe and Heine, including Goethe's Interest in the New World (1934) and Heine: Sein Leben und seine Werke (1974). The collection also includes correspondence, research notes, manuscripts, publications, photographs and letters with other German scholars.

The collection consists of more than 1,000 items, primarily twentieth century material relating to Jacksonville, Florida. Includes letters, documents, and notes relating to the personal, political, and business activities of Eartha M. M. White. Some subject files include publications, reports, programs, photographs, and memorabilia. Of particular interest are materials pertaining to: Prominent African American leaders, e.g., James Weldon Johnson, A. Phillip Randolph, and Simuel Decatur McGill; Historic Jacksonville business, charitable, and religious organizations including Afro-American Life Insurance Company, Bethel Baptist Institutional Church, Clara White Mission, Community Chest Association, and Jacksonville Negro Welfare League; Florida social and educational organizations including Florida State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, Florida Baptist Academy / Florida Normal and Industrial Institute. The bulk of the collection are photographs depicting friends, relatives and events from her long life. Sizes of the photographs vary, ranging from 5x7 to 12x16 inches. A significant amount of her business and personal correspondence is also included. An extensive subject index is available for use with the collection. The collection also contains 156 black and white photographs of southern African American religious and labor groups, circa 1946-1949, by photographer R. Lee Thomas of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. His imprint contains the caption: Made by R. Lee Thomas, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, The Oldest Negro Town in America. Mr. Thomas was an African American photographer active in the early twentieth century in the southern United States, whose work provides photographic documentation of southern black social life during that time period. The majority of the photographs depict groups from Birmingham, Alabama, and adjacent areas.

This collection includes organizational documents such as committee meeting notes, financial records, professional correspondence, insurance records, and programs and announcements for special events.  Also includes theatrical playscripts which range in date from the mid-19^th to early 20^th century.