Drs. John and Vada Somerville standing beside a car, 1930s

Title: Drs. John and Vada Somerville standing beside a car, 1930s
Alternative title: John and Vada Somerville, couple and anniversary photographs
Date Created: [1930s]
Date: 1930/1940
Collection: Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

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. 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.
Drs. John and Vada Somerville standing beside a car parked on a residential street.

Genre: photographs
Names: Somerville, John Alexander, 1881-1973
Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
Resource type: still image
Subjects: African American civil rights workers
African American businesspeople
African American dentists