Dr. Vada Somerville and Martha Jefferson Louis with a gathering of women in a home, Los Angeles, 1940s

Title: Dr. Vada Somerville and Martha Jefferson Louis with a gathering of women in a home, Los Angeles, 1940s
Alternative title: Somerville community activities (1)
Photographer: Griffin, Earl, b. 1914 or 15
Date Created: [1940s]
Date: 1940/1950
Collection: Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

Description: Gathering of women at someone's home, including Vada Somerville (2nd row, 3rd from left) and Martha Jefferson Louis (back row, 6th from right).
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.
Caption: Photographer's stamp on back of photo: please credit photo by Earl Griffin

Genre: Portrait photographs
Names: Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
Louis, Martha Jefferson, 1912-1991
Subject Geographic: Los Angeles (Calif.)
Resource type: still image
Subjects: African American civil rights workers
African American businesspeople
African American dentists