I am a firm believer in the simple fact that every person who wants a job can get a job. That’s an old school philosophy I learned from my grandfather Frank Bakewell, when I worked at his store on Central between Slauson and Gage as a young boy. It doesn’t matter what the job is, McDonalds is an option, delivering newspapers is an option, mowing lawns is an option. It may not be the job you want, but it will be the job you have until a better one comes along.

My friends Tyrone Freeman and Eric Lee of SCLC have now launched The Poor Peoples Campaign, this is an initiative to get every person in our community who wants to work employed. Now, I know there are higher paying jobs out there, and I want to see everyone in our community get one. But what I want to see most of all is us as Black people moving forward, and a job, ANY JOB for a person who has no job is a step in the right direction.

The Los Angeles Sentinel and The Bakewell Company are on board and committed to this program. The Poor Peoples Campaign is a very basic idea started by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and revived and revitalized by Eric, Tyrone and the entire SCLC Family.

We as a community and as Black People must all get behind this campaign. Every business man and woman, every politician, every civic leader and every church needs to sign up and support this effort. We need to put pressure on people and those companies that want us to buy and support them, but then give us an excuses as to why they can’t hire and support us.

I am encouraging all of you to sign up and support this campaign. I am asking you to report to us [The Sentinel] those businesses within our community who are refusing to get on board and hire people from our community. We are going to start a grass roots movement to revitalize the image and mindset of our community. Our community really does want to work, and it is our responsibility; each and everyone of ours, to make sure that if you want a job you can get a job.

Let me know how you feel about this program, let me know how we can improve on the paper. Let me know whatever is on your mind. I want to hear from you, I want you to “Talk to Danny”.

Sincerely,

Danny J. Bakewell, Jr.
President and Executive Editor

Published in : Executive Editor Blog, Talk To Danny