Danny Bakewell

Danny Joseph Bakewell (born 1946) is an American civil rights activist, real estate developer and media owner.[1] He is the owner of The Bakewell Company, which includes among its holdings the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper. He has also served as Chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).

Early life and career

Bakewell was born and raised in New Orleans, moving out to Los Angeles in 1967.[2]

Bakewell is the co-founder of the National Black United Fund.[3] He also served as President of The Brotherhood Crusade, a civil rights advocate organization for the Black Los Angeles community, for over 30 years.[3]

Bakewell supported OJ Simpson during his 1995 trial.[4][1]

Bakewell runs a real-estate development firm, The Bakewell Company,[1] which is the largest minority-owned on the West Coast.[5] He purchased the Los Angeles Sentinel, the city's oldest and largest Black newspaper, in 2004.[6] In 2005, he started Taste of Soul, a one-day block party in South LA.[7] In 2007, he purchased the New Orleans radio station WBOK.[8] He later sold WBOK to a company owned partly by Wendell Pierce.

Bakewell also served as chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.[9][1]

Bakewell has been described as an informal power broker in Los Angeles.[1]

In 2025, an intersection in South Los Angeles was named after him.[3]

Personal life

Bakewell and his wife Aline have two adult children and four grandchildren.[10]

Bakewell is Catholic.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Who is Danny Bakewell, the Black L.A. power broker named in the Nury Martinez audio?". Los Angeles Times. 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
  2. ^ "Danny J. Bakewell Sr.: Eternal voice for Black Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times. 2024-06-23. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  3. ^ a b c "South Los Angeles intersection named "Danny Bakewell Sr. Square"". CBS Los Angeles. 2025-10-17. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  4. ^ Dean, Michelle (2016-06-19). "OJ: Made in America is a damning brief against America itself". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
  5. ^ "The Mayor of the City of Los Angeles". Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  6. ^ Roderick, Kevin (March 23, 2004). "Danny Bakewell takes over Sentinel". LA Observed.
  7. ^ "Taste of Soul successfully returns for the first time since the pandemic - CBS Los Angeles". www.cbsnews.com. 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
  8. ^ "WBOK purchased by Danny Bakewell, champion of Black economic self-determination". SF Bay View. 4 June 2009.
  9. ^ "Bakewell Elected to Lead Black Press across Nation - Los Angeles Sentinel". 2 July 2009.
  10. ^ "The Bakewell Company – Danny J. Bakewell Sr". Archived from the original on 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
  11. ^ Stevenson, Brenda E. (2015-05-31), "Harlins, Latasha Lavon", African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.39717, ISBN 978-0-19-530173-1, retrieved 2021-05-21{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
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