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. Dr. Vada Somerville receives an Award from Los Angeles County from County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn with her husband, Dr. John A. Somerville (left) and an unidentified man in attendance. 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. Stamp on back of photo: From Supervisor Kenneth Hahn
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image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b14_f11_002a.tif ark:/21198/z1zc9m1p
Subject
African American civil rights workers Award presentations African American businesspeople African American dentists City council members Somerville, John Alexander, 1881-1973 Los Angeles County (Calif.). Board of Supervisors Hahn, Kenneth Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
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