[4] In the 25th Ward, he served as member of the board of aldermen of St. Louis, Missouri from 1941–45 and was chairman of the legislation committee.

[7] Responding to an anti-segregation plan by the St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality by sending interracial dining groups to three mall restaurants, Bakewell wrote: "It appears utterly inconsistent that the department stores would welcome the patronage of a large segment of the population at all counters and in all departments but would arbitrarily exclude them from the dining facilities.

Phyllis Schlafly, conservative activist and founder of Eagle Forum, managed Bakewell's 1946 campaign.

"[11] Bakewell won the election by 6,187 votes, and his victory was hailed as a defeat of an otherwise powerful political machine.

[13] He died in University City, Missouri on March 18, 1987, aged 74, and was interred at Calvary Cemetery in St.