Dr. John Somerville with others having dinner at a hotel, 1940s-1950s

Item Overview

Title

Dr. John Somerville with others having dinner at a hotel, 1940s-1950s

Alternative title

Somerville community activities (1)

Date Created

[1940s-1950s]

Date

1940/1950

Collection

Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

Notes

Description

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.
Dr. John Somerville (standing) at a dinner table at a hotel with six people seated on either side.

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph

Keywords

Genre

photographs

Names

Somerville, John Alexander, 1881-1973

Resource type

still image

Subjects

African American civil rights workers
African American businesspeople
African American dentists