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. 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. Faustina Johnson was the Secretary Manager of the Watts Chamber of Commerce. Will Rogers Park in Watts, in Watts, was later renamed Ted Watkins Park. Burton W. Chace served for nearly twenty years on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Burton W. Chase, Faustina Johnson, Dr. Vada Somerville, Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, and Attorney Charles Antis at the opening of the olympic size swimming pool at Will Rogers Park.
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image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b14_f10_011a.tif ark:/21198/z1hh8357
Subject
Ted Watkins Park (Los Angeles, Calif) African American civil rights workers African American businesspeople African American dentists City council members Chace, Burton W., 1901-1972 Los Angeles County (Calif.). Board of Supervisors Hahn, Kenneth Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972 Johnson, Faustina Naomi, 1900-1962 Antis, Charles
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