By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
Danny Bakewell Sr., outfitted in his customary all black attire, strode out of the Los Angeles Sentinel office building at 3800 Crenshaw Blvd., slid through a vendor booth and into the teeth of what was soon to become Bakewell Media’s 19th Annual Taste of Soul Family Festival.
One may ponder why Bakewell Sr., an iconic Civil Rights Leader and dynamic political powerbroker, is still closely monitoring the details of an event he established nearly two decades ago and is the founder and creator.
His gait is a bit more measured these days and the silver hair thinning out a bit, but the mind and memory is as sound and sharp as ever and forever on vivid display on a day that has unofficially become a cultural holiday.
Taste of Soul does not happen without him, and thus millions and millions of Angelos and clusters from around the nation and even the world converge on Crenshaw Blvd., one of the most famous arteries in America for what Bakewell Sr. insist is a celebration of Black culture and community pride.
ULTIMATE POWER-Danny Jr. Bakewell Sr. is joined at LA Mayor and Co-Chair Karen Bass and a sea of other pubic servants. (Kenneth Miller/Photo)
It was no different on October 18, when Taste of Soul shut the city down again from Stocker to Obama as scores of vendors hair products, delicious grilled lobster, tasty barbeque, ice cream, snow cones, Amazon Access Marketplace, LAX Lounge where jobs were offered, Metro where freeride cards were offered onward to the nonprofit sector headed by Bakewell Sr.’s own Brotherhood Crusade where a vast rage of goods and services were offered.
Since its inception, Bakewell Sr., with the trusted support of his sister Pamela Bakewell, son Danny Bakewell Jr. and daughter Brandi Bakewell, has been adamant that TOS as it has become known grows by leaps and bounds.
I can’t think of any singular figure or a collaboration of people that could secure the support of every government agency locally, while tapping into car dealers and other businesses than one Danny J. Bakewell Sr.
SIR CO CHAIR— To the right, Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson. Kenneth Miller/Photo).
For any local community newspaper that is still crying about advertising drying up, then Bakewell Sr. brought all of your potential clients to Crenshaw Blvd. and you had all day to close the deal.
Newly minted Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and TOS summed up Taste of Soul best.
“Taste of Soul is one of the key celebrations in Los Angeles, in the heart of the Crenshaw District, heart of the Black community, all of our restaurants, all of our artists, our performers are out here together building community and building memories.”
Harris-Dawson also underlined the significance of the political power that Bakewell Sr. assembles that continues to increase with each TOS.
FIRST FAMILY–The dynamic Burke Family, granddaughter and mom former Assembly member Autumn Burke and mom and dad, the first Black woman member of Congress to represent the West Coast and former 2nd District Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and husband founder of the Los Angeles Marathon and stalwart power broker. (Kenneth Miller/Photo).
“Everybody wants to be connected to the community. Some of us are born connected to the community, some of us are meeting the community for the first time, but this is absolutely the place to be three weeks out from election, if you got your name on any ballot anywhere this is where you need to be,” Harris-Dawson told South Bay Black Journal.
And to get here, you have to receive the blessings of Bakewell Sr. who close to mid afternoon assembles all of the politicians and stakeholders and they follow him in a regal-like procession to the KJLH Stage, where the introduction of their names last longer than one of the acts that performs there.
Bakewell Sr. deems it necessary that these public servants or potential public servants look into the eyes of the community they pledge to serve, then he impores the crowd to “Show them some love.”
HUTT ONE– Los Angeles City Council member Heather Hutt (sun glasses). (Kenneth Miller/Photo)
“On this day, we come to celebrate ourselves, our families, our businesses, our people and our shared journey. I want to thank the community for their love and support of Taste of Soul, year after year. This celebration of culture, unity and joy would not be possible without each and every one of you.”–Danny J. Bakewell Sr.
Actress and comedienne Tiffany Haddish returns as the Taste of Soul celebrity co-chair. The chairs are Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and Councilmember Heather Hutt. Co-chairs include Councilmember Curren Price, LAUSD Board Member Dr. George McKenna, CBS/KCAL News Anchor Pay Harvey, Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan, Mike Gipson, and Reggie Jones-Sawyer, and the law firm of Ivie McNeil Wyatt Purcell & Diggs.
“Taste of Soul would not be possible without the overwhelming support from our corporate sponsors, community members, small business owners and elected officials,” noted Bakewell.
The Premiere Sponsors are Chevrolet, Southern California Gas Company, Chase Bank, South Coast Air Quality Management District, City National Bank, Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs, BMO, Los Angeles World Airports, Port of Los Angeles, and Premier Sponsor and Official Transportation Partner and Premiere Sponsor Metro.
Other sponsors are Bank of America, Waymo, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, LADWP, UDW-AFSCME Local 3930 Wells Fargo, Southern California Edison, Cedars-Sinai, SEIU Local 2015, UCLA Health, Pasadena City College, MLK Community Healthcare, Brotherhood Crusade, US Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Vallarta Supermarkets, InnovAge California PACE Crenshaw Center, USC, California Teachers Association, Watts Health Care, Los Angeles Community College District, Charles R. Drew University, AT&T, Los Angeles Dodgers, Black Girl Sunscreen, Los Angeles Public Library, Habitat for Humanity LA, OneLegacy, Pantages/Centerstage Group, Black Girl Sunscreen, Cal Fire, California Conservation Corps, California Black Media, Pet Food Express, Umpqua Bank, SEIU 721, Lee Andrews Group, W. King Healthcare Group, CA Yimby, Target, Comerica Bank, California Highway Patrol, DoorDash, Los Angeles Football Club, First 5 LA, Center for Healthcare Rights, LA Sanitation, West Basin Municipal Water District, UTLA, 97.1 KNX, K-Earth 101, KTWV, L.A. Care, Neighborhood Housing Services.
Taste of Soul partners include Bakewell Media, Los Angeles Sentinel, Mothers In Action, Radio FREE 102.3 KJLH, CBS2/KCAL9, 94.7 The WAVE, Brotherhood Crusade, LAUSD, LA Department of Transportation, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, City of L.A., County of L.A., Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services, and Western States Carpenters.
Among the heavy hitters were TOS Co-Chair Los Angeles Mayor Bass on on hand, as was the next representatives of Democratic Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris United States Senator Adam Schiff, of who will replace a Bakewell Sr. favorite Laphonza Butler, but the list of those gathering on the stage included The Burke Family, former County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, her husband and powerbroker Dr. Bill Burke, their daughter and former State Assemblymember Autumn Burke and her lovely daughter, State Senator Steven Bradford, Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Council President Harris-Dawson, LA City Councilmembers Heather Hutt, Curren Price, Inglewood City Councilmember Dionne Faulk, Karim Webb, President of Los Angeles World Airports Board of Airport Commissioners, State Senate (District 35) candidate Michelle Chambers.
NOW HEAR THIS— Left, Danny J. Bakewell Sr. with Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris representative. (Kenneth Miller/Photo).
Every single official is there because of Danny J. Bakewell Sr., who holds each of them accountable for their responsibility to the community he so cherishes.
The big hiccup during his ritual stage presentation was a personal video for Presidential candidate Harris, even though she is also grateful for Bakewell Sr.’s vision, guidance and confidence in her.
“We gotta fix this video so that the people can hear what she has to say,” Bakewell Sr. fumed. In the end, all that matter was what he has done over the past 19 years with Taste of Soul and beyond.
Action speaks a lot louder than any words.
