Dr. Vada Somerville (born Vada Jetmore Watson) of Pomona graduated from USC, married dentist John Alexander Somerville (1912), was the first African American woman and the second African American person to graduate from USC School of Dentistry (1918), and was the first African American woman certified to practice dentistry in the state of California. She was a civil rights activist, highly involved in several civic and community organizations. Minnie Mitchell Wickliffe taught at Emerson Institute in Mobile, Alabama, and in high schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri. She was married to Gustavus Woodson Wickliffe, an attorney, and her children were Caroline Wickliffe Antoine and Gustavus Woodson Wickliffe. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority branch in Los Angeles. She was active in clubs and events. Group portrait of 31 members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Vada Somerville is in the group, wearing a velvet dress (first row, 4th from left). Minnie Mitchell Wickliffe is also present (2nd row, 3rd from right). Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) is a Greek-lettered sorority, the first established by African-American college women on January 15, 1908 at Howard University. The membership is for college-educated women.
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image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b25_f04_005a.tif ark:/21198/z15m7pw7
Subject
African American civic leaders African American Greek letter societies Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Minnie Mitchell Wickliffe, 1872-1960 Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
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