Los Angeles Sentinel
Encyclopedia
The Los Angeles Sentinel is a weekly African American
-owned newspaper
published in Los Angeles, California
. The paper boasts of reaching 125,000 readers , making it the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspaper in the Western United States
.
The Sentinel was founded and first published in 1933 by Col.
Leon H. Washington for black readers. Since then the newspaper has been considered a staple of black life in Los Angeles. The paper mainly focuses on and thus enjoys most of its circulation
in the predominantly African-American neighborhoods of South Los Angeles
, Inglewood
and Compton
.
On March 17, 2004 the Sentinel was purchased and came under the direction of real estate developer and community activist Danny Bakewell
. Recently Bakewell has updated equipment at the paper's publishing facility and has worked to improve marketing and increase subscriptions.
, a former Atlanta mayor, resigned from his public relations post on August 17, 2006 with Wal-Mart
after he was quoted in the Sentinel for saying that urban communities should welcome in Wal-Mart, since the retailer could push out mom-and-pop shops that had allegedly been overcharging poor people. The controversial aspect of Young's interview was its racial dimension. He said: "I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs."
The Los Angeles Sentinel is circulated throughout Southern California. Distribution is contracted out to the Los Angeles Times. Outside Metropolitan Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Sentinel is delivered to homes by the United States Postal Service.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
-owned newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The paper boasts of reaching 125,000 readers , making it the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspaper in the Western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Sentinel was founded and first published in 1933 by Col.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Leon H. Washington for black readers. Since then the newspaper has been considered a staple of black life in Los Angeles. The paper mainly focuses on and thus enjoys most of its circulation
Newspaper circulation
A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Circulation is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the...
in the predominantly African-American neighborhoods of South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
, Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
and Compton
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
.
On March 17, 2004 the Sentinel was purchased and came under the direction of real estate developer and community activist Danny Bakewell
Danny Bakewell
Daniel "Danny" Joseph Bakewell is an American civil rights activist and entrepreneur. He is the owner of The Bakewell Company, which includes among its holdings the New Orleans radio station WBOK and the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper...
. Recently Bakewell has updated equipment at the paper's publishing facility and has worked to improve marketing and increase subscriptions.
Notable articles
Andrew YoungAndrew Young
Andrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
, a former Atlanta mayor, resigned from his public relations post on August 17, 2006 with Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
after he was quoted in the Sentinel for saying that urban communities should welcome in Wal-Mart, since the retailer could push out mom-and-pop shops that had allegedly been overcharging poor people. The controversial aspect of Young's interview was its racial dimension. He said: "I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs."
The Los Angeles Sentinel is circulated throughout Southern California. Distribution is contracted out to the Los Angeles Times. Outside Metropolitan Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Sentinel is delivered to homes by the United States Postal Service.