A faxctual report on the status of the Amerrican Negro Today. VG blue cloth covered boards with gilt lettering on cover and along spine; slight sun fading on spine.
Binding and hinges worn; contents ; dust jacket in fair shape. A Pioneer iof Black Los Angeles. John Alexander Somerville emigrated to the United States from Jamaica around 1900. He and his wife, Vada Watson Somerville, were both graduates of the University of Southern California School of Dentistry.
Graduating with honors in 1907, he was the first black graduate, and his wife was later the first black woman graduate. In 1914, only three years after its founding in New York City, New York, the Los Angeles branch of the NAACP was created at the home of John and Vada Somerville.
His first major business venture, the Somerville Hotel, was a principal African American enterprise on Central Avenue, in the heart of the Los Angeles African American community. When it opened in 1928 it was one of the most upscale black hotels in the United States, and counted a number of African American celebrities among its guests. The scene for at least one black film, and a major community landmark for many years, the Dunbar Hotel declined in the 1960s, but has now been revived and has been designated a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. In addition to developing other properties in the Los Angeles area, throughout the years both he and his wife were active in community affairs and civil rights work. In 1949 he published his autobiography, Man of Color, and in addition to being the second African American on the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, served on the Police Commission from 1949 to 1953.
In 1953 he was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. One unforeseen consequence of Los Angeles' current preoccupation with its new multiculturalism is a tendency to forget just how prominent people of color were among the city's social and economic pioneers.
At the turn of the century, for example, John Alexander Somerville became not only the first black to graduate from USC's School of Dentistry, but also one of Los Angeles' leading property developers and civic activists. In 1902, after failing an exam for a university scholarship in his native Jamaica, the 20-year-old Somerville sailed to San Francisco.The Bay Area's physical beauty thrilled him, but the man who grew up in one of the Caribbean's most integrated cultures was unprepared for the harsh realities of American race relations. Stunned after being denied food, shelter and employment because of his skin color, Somerville began looking for alternatives.
He decided he had discovered one when he came across advertising photographs of Southern California's orange groves arrayed against the majestic backdrop of snowcapped mountains. Within months, the young immigrant had resettled in Southern California. On his first day, his classmates threatened to resign unless he was dismissed.But the school stuck by him and eventually the controversy faded. Somerville graduated first in his class in 1907, and subsequently passed the state dental board exam with the highest score recorded up to that time. He established a practice at 4th Street and Broadway, then the center of Los Angeles' black business district. Within a few years, he became a U.
Citizen, and shortly afterward bought his first home, at 1800 San Pedro St. By that time, he also had become the Chamber of Commerce's first black member. In 1912, Somerville married Vada Watson, who had also attended USC.
Within a few years, she became the second black to graduate from USC's dental school, and the first African American woman certified to practice dentistry in California. In the first decade of this century, Los Angeles' black population more than tripled, from 2,131 to 7,599.
Although the 1910 census showed that 36.1% of black Angelenos owned their own homes, compared with 2.4% in New York City, discrimination and restrictive covenants were becoming increasingly common because of the influx of white workers from the South. As more blacks moved into Los Angeles, steps were taken to confine them. Concerned about the overcrowding that resulted, the Somervilles founded the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Assn. For the Advancement of Colored People in their living room in 1913. After World War I, Los Angeles experienced a new influx of African Americans, and by 1920--when the city's black population topped 18,000--the area's housing shortage became acute. To help meet the demand, Somerville built a 26-unit apartment house he called La Vada. Then America's largest black-owned business--opened at 14th Street and Central Avenue. In June 1928, more than 5,000 people attended the hotel's opening gala. Later that year it was the site of the NAACP's first national convention on the West Coast.Musicians Duke Ellington and Count Basie, dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, comedian Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and writers Langston Hughes and W. Du Bois were among the hotel's frequent guests. Somerville suffered badly in the stock market crash of 1929, and was forced to sell his hotel, which the new owners renamed the Dunbar after poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Under that name it remained the center of Los Angeles' blues and jazz scene for more than two decades.
Somerville managed to recover his financial position and, within a few years, threw himself into political and civic activities. In 1936, he became California's first black delegate to a Democratic national convention. Thirteen years later, he not only published an autobiography--"Man of Color"--but also became the first black appointed to the Police Commission. In 1954, England's Queen Elizabeth II declared him an officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to Anglo-American relations.
In 1972, shortly after the couple's 60th wedding anniversary, Vada Somerville died. John Somerville, by then 91, died a few months later. Row out and meet it. Aving grown up in the well integrated Jamaican society, at 19 John arrived in San Francisco to seek his fortune.Instead, to his horror, he had trouble getting anything to eat or a place to stay or even a job because he was black. S prestigious School of Dentistry, where with his outstanding academic credentials, he was accepted. But on his first day, the entire class walked out refusing to attend with him because of his skin color. On the California certification exam he got the highest test scores ever up to that time. John started his own practice and as a rare dentist who would treat black patients and from many of his white friends making him their dentist, he became very successful.
And his success grew dramatically when a friend, a white patient encouraged him to invest in real estate and taught him how. In a time of intense segregation, when rarely would credit or even decent housing be available to a black person, this white man, Mr. Dike, issued a cashier's check for the remaining portion. "I closed the deal and paid him back on the installment plan, " John proudly remarked many years later.This was the beginning of his lucrative real estate investments. Meanwhile, at church, John met Vada Watson, also a U.
They married and she later became the second black graduate of the School of Dentistry and first black woman certified to practice dentistry in California. Despite the bigotry that surrounded John and Vada, through charm and perseverance he became only the second black member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. But while limited exceptions were made for the Somervilles and a few other blacks, the color line became even worse as more blacks came to L.Hoping for less discrimination then elsewhere in the U. Those African-Americans were in for a shock and deep disappointment. In 1913, to offer black people a stronger voice John and Vada formed the first local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. However, this did not stop John from thriving in dentistry and business.
In 1925, with his outstanding financial track record and excellent credit, he convinced a lender to loan to him and he built the fashionable La Vada, a 26-unit apartment complex in what would later be known as South Central. This desirable complex offered black people quality housing and was profitable to John. Growing ever more successful, three years later, John built the swank Hotel Somerville, South Central's version of a Beverly Hills stature hotel. It was a beautiful 100 room hotel, with a fancy lobby and upscale stores and the luxurious dining room included a balcony for an orchestra.
But the hotel was very expensive and a big gamble as John borrowed heavily to build it. Its grand opening was a huge event, a Hollywood type premier and 5,000 people turned out. And thereafter, successful black people frequented Hotel Somerville. Musicians such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington and intellectuals such as W. Du Bois and Langston Hughes were among its many guests.John was now on top of the world, a tremendous business success and widely respected. Then suddenly everything came crashing down.
Like many other moneyed people of the time John invested heavily in the stock market. When the market crashed in 1929 it took his fortune with it. He was forced to sell his hotel and most of his other holdings to meet his obligations. He was broke but he was not defeated. Ever resourceful and determined, during the Great Depression, John managed to restore much of his fortune.
For he still had his dental practice and if one had some cash and courage, investment opportunities for pennies on the dollar were plentiful. Given his renewed stature in 1936 John became the first African-American to represent California at the Democratic Party national convention. In 1949, he became the first black person appointed to the Los Angeles Police Commission, for he was a pillar of the community.
This latter appointment was crucial because it gave black people a voice in a police force known for being hostile to racial minorities, especially to blacks. In their personal lives, in 1972, John and Vada joyfully celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, by then a meaningful event for the entire Los Angeles area. But soon after, Vada passed away as did John at 91 the following year. But they had lived to see the Civil Rights movement sweep away the vast and vicious segregation that had quashed the ambitions and the self-esteem of so many people and replace it with equal rights in which hard working people of any color could succeed.
Yet John succeeded long before then. That's wonderful advice for us today, as we hold John Alexander Somerville and his beloved Vada in our hearts.