Hidden Figures: Dr. Vada Watson Somerville #BlackHERstoryMonth 17/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Dr. Vada Watson Somerville #BlackHERstoryMonth 17/28

If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting! CashApp: $SerenSensei Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei All Patrons get access to the Discord server! NEW MERCH SHOP: https://the-bheezebake-project.creator-spring.com Dr. Vada Watson Somerville, D.D.S. (November 1, 1885 – October 28, 1972) was a civil rights activist and dentistry pioneer. She was the second Black American to graduate from the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, and the first Black American woman to be licensed to practice dentistry in the state of California. Vada Somerville was born Vada Watson on November 1, 1885 in Pomona, California. In 1903, she received a scholarship to the University of Southern California (USC); after graduating from USC, she worked as a bookkeeper and a telephone operator. In 1912, she married John Alexander Somerville, a Doctor of Dental Surgery who she met while they were both in college. The first Black American to graduate from the USC School of Dentistry, Somerville encouraged his wife to go back to school to become a dentist. When she entered dental school at USC, she was the only woman and the only Black American in her class. In 1918, Somerville graduated with her D.D.S. as the second Black American to finish the USC dental program. She then became the first Black woman to be licensed to practice dentistry in the state of California, and practiced for 15 years. The Somerville’s were civic-minded and active in real estate, founding the Hotel Somerville in 1927. The hotel was described as "an elegant, all-Black hostelry that symbolized both the possibilities of racial advancement and the realities of racial segregation." The hotel became a gathering place and activism space for Black Americans who wanted social change, hosting such luminaries as Rosa Parks and W.E.B. Du Bois. In 1928, the building served as the headquarters for the NAACP national convention. Unfortunately, the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression forced the Somerville's to sell the hotel. Renamed the Dunbar Hotel, it remained a center of Black cultural life for decades. After closing as a working hotel, it became a museum with local and national landmark status. Vada Somerville retired from dentistry in 1933. After retiring, she devoted herself full-time to social welfare and civic work, as, before she had even become a dentist, the Somerville’s were community activists, starting the Los Angeles branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in their home in 1914. Vada participated in civil rights activism and community organizations, including the Los Angeles League of Women Voters, the Council on Public Affairs, UCLA's YWCA and the USC Half Century Club. In 1938, Vada was a founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Council of Negro Women. In 1948, she helped to co-found the Los Angeles County Human Relations Committee and established the Pilgrim House Community Center, a center to take care of the needs of Black families who migrated to LA during World War II. Dr. Vada Somerville died in her home, at age 87, in Los Angeles, California. #HiddenFigures #VadaSomerville ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/theblackamericans https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/dacs?rq=d.a.c.s Follow me on social media! Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: Black History Month Spotlight - Dr. Vada Somerville, Civil Rights Leader and Dentistry Pioneer: https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/black-history-month-spotlight-vada-watson-somerville/ Vada Watson Somerville: https://www.sindecusemuseum.org/vada-watson-somerville VADA WATSON SOMERVILLE: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/somerville-vada-watson-1885-1972/ DR. VADA WATSON SOMERVILLE - FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN DOCTOR OF DENTAL SURGERY IN CALIFORNIA: https://blackthen.com/new-dr-vada-watson-somerville-first-african-american-doctor-dental-surgery-california/ Vada Watson Somerville - Black Pioneer of the Chino Valley: https://www.championnewspapers.com/opinion_and_commentary/history_of_the_hills/article_48e20950-8b61-11ec-9cff-b3924e0bdfb4.html Vada Watson Somerville: https://alumni.usc.edu/timeline/vada-watson-somerville/ The Dunbar Hotel Was Once The Heart Of Black Los Angeles: https://laist.com/news/la-history/dunbar-hotel-heart-of-black-los-angeles-hidden-history