[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 24724]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         DANNY J. BAKEWELL, SR.

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am very pleased to take a few 
moments to recognize the many important accomplishments of Danny J. 
Bakewell, Sr., as he prepares to step down as CEO of the Brotherhood 
Crusade.
  Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. has spent the past 35 years building the 
Brotherhood Crusade into a nationally-recognized charitable 
organization in southern California. In that time, he has raised over 
$60 million to support a host of programs. Nurturing nonprofit groups 
and local small businesses is first and foremost among the Brotherhood 
Crusade's priorities. The venerable institution funds programs that 
provide services for adults seeking job training and job placement, 
young people looking to realize their academic potential, and families 
seeking to improve their physical health.
  The funding that Brotherhood Crusade provides is the lifeblood for 
many organizations, making it possible for them to be the catalyst in 
bringing change to communities and change to individuals.
  Danny's commitment to equality for all, fair representation in the 
media, and strengthening communities has been steadfast, as evidenced 
by his activist work. He was active in the struggle to bring a 
peaceable end to apartheid in South Africa. Danny galvanized a 
coalition of community leaders to change the way entertainment 
companies represented slavery on prime time television. Along with his 
family, Danny launched a foundation to uplift the lives of children 
during their treatments associated with leukemia and other life-
threatening diseases.
  Danny Bakewell's success in the private sector have been important to 
under-served communities throughout Los Angeles county as well. He is 
the publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, the largest and oldest 
African-American owned newspaper west of the Mississippi River. Danny 
was the catalyst behind two development projects--the Compton Towne 
Center and Compton Renaissance Plaza--which have helped to bring 
economic vitality into an area that had been written off by many. In 
addition to creating much needed jobs for community residents and 
additional tax revenues for the city, these projects are giving 
residents a deeper sense of pride in their neighborhood.
  I invite my colleagues to join me and the thousands of people touched 
by his work in commending Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. for his great 
leadership of the Brotherhood Crusade and tireless advocacy throughout 
his lifetime.

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