Man of Color. An Autobiography by Dr. J. Alexander Somerville. by Somerville, Dr. J. Alexander - (1949).

Los Angeles: Lorrin L. Morrison, Printing and Publishing, (1949). Hardback First edition 9" x 6". 170pp. Blue cloth. Somerville was a Jamaican emigrant. He was the first black graduate of the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. 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. In addition to developing other properties in the Los Angeles area, throughout the years Somerville and his wife were active in community affairs and civil rights work. In addition to being the second African American on the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, he 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.