Supervisor Kenneth Hahn administering a pledge from Dr. Vada Somerville, Los Angeles, 1950s-1960s

Title: Supervisor Kenneth Hahn administering a pledge from Dr. Vada Somerville, Los Angeles, 1950s-1960s
Alternative title: Somerville community activities (2)
Date Created: [1950s-1960s]
Collection: OpenUCLA Collections
Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection

Description: 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.
Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and Dr. Vada Somerville raise their right hands and hold a book, standing in front of an American flag.
Caption: Written on back of photo: Supervisor Kenneth Hahn presenting Certificate of Service to Dr. Vada Somerville.

Genre: photographs
Subject topic: City council members
African American dentists
African American civil rights workers
Names: Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
Hahn, Kenneth
Subject geographic: Los Angeles (Calif.)
Resource type: still image