Dr. Vada Somerville conferring with Eleanor Roosevelt at a reception in the Somerville home, Los Angeles, 1950

Title: Dr. Vada Somerville conferring with Eleanor Roosevelt at a reception in the Somerville home, Los Angeles, 1950
Alternative title: Vada Somerville hosts Eleanor Roosevelt
Date Created: January 17-18, 1950
Date: 1950-01-17/1950-01-18
Collection: Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

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.
Reported in, "Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt will not campaign for son for Calif. governor," Los Angeles Sentinel, 19 Jan. 1950: A2.
Dr. Vada Somerville and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt look at an open book at a reception honoring Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in the Somerville home (2401 Harvard Blvd.).
Caption: Written on back of photo: Dr. Vada Somerville, conferring with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.

Genre: photographs
Names: Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
Somerville, Vada, 1885-1972
Subject Geographic: Los Angeles (Calif.)
Longitude: 34.036561
Latitude: -118.306518
Resource type: still image
Subjects: African American civic leaders
African American civil rights workers
First ladies
Receptions
African American dentists