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Title
Dr. Vada Somerville appointed to the Commission on Human Relations by Kenneth Hahn, Los Angeles, 1959 (?)
Alternative Title
Somerville community activities (2)
Date Created and/or Issued
[1959]
1959
Contributing Institution
UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library
Collection
Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
Rights Information
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Description
Kenneth Hahn (1920–1997) was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and met Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961.
Dr. Vada Somerville served on the Commission on Human Relations from 1953 to 1966.
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.
Supervisor Kenneth Hahn appointing Dr. Vada Somerville to the Commission on Human Relations.
Photographer's stamp on back of photo, crossed out: Official Photo / Los Angeles County File Department / Jan 30 1949 / J. A. Homuller Photographer / Release Notice / This picture may be represented or used for illustrative purposes only on condition that credit be given to "Los Angeles Fire Department" / neg #1039
Type
image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b14_f11_008a.tif
ark:/21198/z15x3t18
Subject
African American civil rights workers
African American dentists
City council members
Los Angeles County (Calif.). Committee on Human Relations
Hahn, Kenneth
Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
Source
Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
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