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251:. In 1948, Vada helped to co-found the Los Angeles County Human Relations Committee and established the Pilgrim House Community Center designed to take care of the health needs of black families who migrated to LA during World War II. Vada's support of black women was crucial to the creation of black women's service organizations such as the Links and the
276:, after John and Vada Somerville. It has gained national recognition by being featured in the Los Angeles newspaper in 2000. The goal of Somerville Place is to foster a respect for black culture and create a sense of community on campus. However, Vada's legacy extended beyond her accomplishments at USC. The civil rights movement, including the
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In 1927, the
Somervilles broke ground for the Hotel Somerville in Los Angeles. It was described in Black Women in America as "an elegant, all-Black hostelry that symbolized both the possibilities of racial advancement and the realities of racial segregation." This hotel became a gathering place for
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After retiring from dentistry in 1933, Somerville devoted herself to civil rights activism and participation in many community organizations. She made the decision to devote herself full-time to "social welfare and civic work." some of which are the Los
Angeles League of Women Voters, the Council on
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After the United States entered World War I, Vada
Somerville decided to become a dentist. She was afraid that her husband would be drafted into the armed forces and lose his patients. When she entered dental school at USC, she was the only woman and the only African American in her class.
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sorority. One of her final accomplishments was her creation of The
Stevens House, a multiracial dormitory at UCLA made to foster better interracial relations between students. UCLA sold and closed The Stevens House in 1992. Profits were donated to the UCLA Foundation to establish
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those
African Americans who wanted social change as well as an example of how the educated black class was beginning to contribute new status and ideas into the discussion of race in America. In 1928, the Hotel Somerville served as the headquarters for the
284:'s legacy, became a reality in large part due to the efforts of Vada Somerville and other women like her across the country. By the time Vada died, she had turned her own personal accomplishment into a social revolution for women across the country.
458:
The Negro Trail
Blazers of California: A Compilation of Records from the California Archives in the Bancroft Library at the University of California, in Berkeley; and from the Diaries, Old Papers, and Conversations of Old Pioneers in the State of
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The Negro Trail
Blazers of California: A Compilation of Records from the California Archives in the Bancroft Library at the University of California, in Berkeley; and from the Diaries, Old Papers, and Conversations of Old Pioneers in the State of
215:, the second African-American women to finish the USC dental program. She then became the first black woman to be licensed to practice dentistry in the state of California with one of the highest scores. She retired from dentistry in 1933.
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Both John and Vada
Somerville are revered at the USC Dental School, where their portraits are hanging as symbols of ambition and perseverance. Additionally, USC's African-American residential theme floor has been named
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Kenneth H. Marcus, "Living the Los
Angeles Renaissance: A Tale of Two Black Composers," The Journal of African American History 91, no. 1 (2006): ,
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national convention. After the stock market crashed and the hotel was bought from the
Somervilles, the Hotel Somerville was renamed the
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By 1938, Vada had become an active member in the establishment of the Los Angeles chapter of the
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to practice dentistry. After their marriage, the couple decided to stay in Los Angeles.
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499:"John & Vada Somerville | Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs | USC"
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591:"Stevens House Scholarship - University of California-Los Angeles Scholarships"
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Vada Watson Somerville, Gale Virtual Reference Library, last modified 2002.
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Ravi, A. (2018). "Biographical Sketch of Dr. Vada Somerville, 1885-1972.".
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and soon after it became a museum with local and national landmark status.
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Vada Somerville died on October 28, 1972, in Los Angeles, California.
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D.D.S., University of Southern California, School of Dentistry, 1918.
154:. Her mother was Dorothy Watson McDonald, a migrant from Arkansas.
408:"Doctors John and Vada Somerville in formal dress, circa 1941/1950"
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woman in California to receive a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.
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Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000
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In 1903, Somerville received a scholarship through the
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150:Vada Somerville was born on November 1, 1885, in
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134:(November 1, 1885 – October 28, 1972) was a
478:University of Michigan School of Dentistry
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114:civil rights activist; women in dentistry
675:University of Southern California alumni
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211:In 1918, Somerville graduated with her
168:University of Southern California (USC)
328:"Vada Watson Somerville (1885-1972) •"
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549:https://www.jstor.org/stable/20064047
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352:. Alexandria, VI: Alexander Street.
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563:"A Pioneer of Black Los Angeles"
431:"A Pioneer of Black Los Angeles"
200:In 1914, the couple founded the
249:National Council of Negro Women
232:and the USC Half Century Club.
27:American suffragist (1885–1972)
670:People from Pomona, California
639:Born to migrants from Arkansas
132:Vada Watson Somerville, D.D.S.
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258:The Stevens House Scholarship
278:Brown v. Board of Education
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455:Beasley, Delilah (1919).
389:Beasley, Delilah (1919).
183:John Alexander Somerville
123:John Alexander Somerville
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523:"Vada Watson Somerville"
474:"Vada Watson Somerville"
302:"Vada Watson Somerville"
187:Doctor of Dental Surgery
146:Personal life and family
191:USC School of Dentistry
181:. In 1912, she married
81:Los Angeles, California
46:Vada Somerville in 1912
595:ucla.academicworks.com
34:Vada Watson Somerville
18:Vada Watson Somerville
615:"USC Student Affairs"
410:. USC Digital Library
364:"USC Student Affairs"
136:civil rights activist
561:Rasmussen, Cecilia.
527:Biography in Context
429:Rasmussen, Cecilia.
306:Biography in Context
204:Los Angeles center.
621:. USC Web Services
370:. USC Web Services
179:telephone operator
152:Pomona, California
65:Pomona, California
567:Los Angeles Times
435:Los Angeles Times
253:Alpha Kappa Alpha
164:Los Angeles Times
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87:Nationality
649:Categories
600:2022-02-10
508:2018-11-16
484:2018-11-16
459:California
393:California
334:2022-02-10
288:References
282:Rosa Parks
103:Occupation
58:1885-11-01
158:Education
125:(m. 1912)
95:Education
625:28 April
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90:American
195:Jamaica
166:to the
106:Dentist
529:. Gale
308:. Gale
264:Legacy
219:Career
213:D.D.S.
177:and a
119:Spouse
238:NAACP
202:NAACP
627:2017
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314:2017
230:YWCA
226:UCLA
185:, a
71:Died
52:Born
619:USC
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
