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. Gilbert D. Olmstead was a black Pittsburgh-based photographer who received a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1946. He lived in Los Angeles starting in the 1940s. Drs. John (center) and Vada (right) Somerville with an unidentified woman standing outside in front of low wall and fern bed. 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. Photographer's stamp on back of photo: Photograph / By / Gilbert D. Olmstead
Type
image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b14_f11_006a.tif ark:/21198/z1ff59dd
Subject
African American civil rights workers African American businesspeople African American dentists Somerville, John Alexander, 1881-1973 Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
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