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Image / Dr. John A. Somerville, and Lester B. Granger, Los Angeles, 1950s

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Title
Dr. John A. Somerville, and Lester B. Granger, Los Angeles, 1950s
Alternative Title
John Somerville as candidate for L.A. City Council and founding member of NAACP
Contributor
Smith, Irving C.
Prominent Individuals and Families, 1885-1980
Date Created and/or Issued
[1950s]
1950/1960
Contributing Institution
UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library
Collection
Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
Rights Information
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Description
Lester Blackwell Granger was a social worker and civil rights and labor rights activist who organized the Los Angeles chapter of the National Urban League (NUL) in 1930 and headed the league from 1941 to 1961. [BlackPast.org]
Dr. John Somerville, born in Jamaica, was the first black graduate of USC School of Dentistry (1907). He married Vada Jetmore Watson (1912), who also became a dentist. He built the Somerville Hotel (1928), was instrumental in the founding of the Los Angeles chapter of NAACP (1914), and served on the Police Commission 1949-1953.
John A. Somerville standing (left) and Lester Granger (right) during Somerville's campaign for City Council, 10th District.
Photographer's stamp on back of photo: Please credit / photo be: / Irving C. Smith
Type
image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b14_f14_003a.tif
ark:/21198/z15q6d55
Subject
African American businesspeople
African American civic leaders
African American dentists
African American men
African American civil rights workers
Granger, Lester B. 1896-1976
Somerville, John Alexander, 1881-1973
Source
Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

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