Dr. John A. Somerville at a meeting of the Circus Saints and Sinners Club, 1950s-1960s

Title: Dr. John A. Somerville at a meeting of the Circus Saints and Sinners Club, 1950s-1960s
Alternative title: Somerville community activities (1)
Date Created: [1950s-1960s]
Date: 1950/1970
Collection: Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

Description: The Circus Saints and Sinners Club of America is a national organization that raises money for local charities.
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.
Group portrait with Dr. John A. Somerville (standing, 6th from left), at a meeting of the Circus Saints and Sinners Club. In the very front are two men dressed as a clown and a policeman.

Genre: Portrait photographs
Names: Circus Saints & Sinners Club of America
Somerville, John Alexander, 1881-1973
Resource type: still image
Subjects: African American civil rights workers
African American businesspeople
African American dentists