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Your Black Muslim Bakery

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Your Black Muslim Bakery, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 202516 sources
Your Black Muslim Bakery
Company typePrivate
IndustryBakery, Food production
Founded1968 in Santa Barbara, California, United States
FounderYusuf Bey
Defunct2007
FateFiled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006; raided and closed in 2007; liquidation proceeding initiated
Headquarters
Oakland, California
,
United States
Area served
San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Key people
Yusuf Bey (founder), Waajid Bey (former CEO), Antar Bey (former leader), Yusuf Bey IV (former CEO)
ProductsBread, cakes, natural food items

Template:Use mdy dates

Your Black Muslim Bakery (abbreviated as YBMB) was a bakery chain in the United States, founded by Yusuf Bey in 1968 in Santa Barbara, before relocating to Oakland in 1971. Positioned as a significant community influencer, YBMB was promoted as an example of economic empowerment within the African American community. Nevertheless, it later became associated with numerous allegations including extensive physical and sexual abuse, welfare fraud, and homicide.

Following Bey's passing in 2003, the business encountered financial difficulties and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2006. In August 2007, amid investigations into the killing of journalist Chauncey Bailey from Oakland Post and other criminal activities, law enforcement executed a large-scale raid at the bakery located on San Pablo Avenue. Simultaneously, a health department inspection led to the bakery’s closure. Shortly thereafter, the court converted the bankruptcy case from reorganization under Chapter 11 to a liquidation proceeding.

Origins

Bakery menu

Born Joseph Stephens, Yusuf Bey moved with his family from Texas to Oakland during the early 1950s. Prior to entering the bakery industry, he operated beauty salons across the San Francisco Bay Area and southern California. After embracing the teachings of Elijah Muhammad in the 1960s, Bey joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) in 1964 and established an "Islamic" bakery in Santa Barbara in 1968. This bakery was not officially connected to the NOI nor did it reflect mainstream Islamic traditions.[1] Minister Keith Muhammad of East Oakland’s Muhammad Mosque #26 clarified that YBMB and NOI were separate entities.[2]

The name Your Black Muslim Bakery was given upon Elijah Muhammad’s personal recommendation, who served as Bey’s spiritual mentor. The bakery was relocated to Oakland in 1971.[2] By 1974, it had become the largest Bay Area bakery focusing exclusively on natural food items, distributing over 6,000 loaves of bread and more than 300 cakes weekly through approximately 150 retail outlets.[3]

In the mid-1980s, Bey frequently appeared on an Oakland cable TV program titled True Solutions, delivering hour-long sermons each week. On this show, he also marketed the bakery while emphasizing themes of African American economic independence and self-awareness. He taught that African Americans were the "Original Man," a concept rooted in the NOI’s doctrine concerning Yakub.[2] By the 1990s, YBMB and its leadership had gained respectability within Oakland society and wielded considerable influence over local politics. They leveraged this power to secure municipal favors, impact elections, and evade law enforcement scrutiny.[4] Bey ran for mayor of Oakland in 1994 but received only about five percent of votes.[1]

As of 2007, YBMB’s main office was located at 5832 San Pablo Avenue. Alameda County records listed five branches including one on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood and another inside Oakland International Airport. The bakery also operated a site at the Oakland Coliseum.[5]

Akbar Bey

Your Black Muslim Bakery #1, May 2002.

In 1994, Akbar Bey, Yusuf Bey's son, was fatally shot four times by a local drug dealer outside the Omni nightclub, located near the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and 50th Street in Oakland. Court documents revealed that the pathologist determined Akbar was under the influence of heroin or morphine at the time of his death. Three months prior to this incident, Akbar faced felony charges for carrying a concealed weapon and evading law enforcement, which led to a police pursuit and subsequent crash at 44th Street and Market Street.

1994 trial involving Nedir and Abaz Bey

On March 4, 1994, Nedir Bey participated in the torture and assault of a Nigerian home-seller inside an apartment on the 500 block of 24th Street in Oakland, related to a real estate transaction. This apartment complex functioned as a base for the Bey organization. Abaz Bey was also involved in this violent episode. Both Nedir and Abaz were active members of the African-American Advisory Committee on Crime, which included Oakland’s mayor at the time, Elihu Harris. Notably, that weekend saw a major crime conference organized by the committee with Jesse Jackson delivering the keynote address.

The confrontation escalated into a large-scale clash involving ninety Oakland Police officers engaging in physical combat with thirty Black Muslims, some armed. The two Beys along with two other individuals faced felony charges including assault, robbery, and false imprisonment. One year later, all four men entered no contest pleas to a single felony count of false imprisonment. Prosecutors agreed to this plea partly because they could not secure testimony from tenants residing in the apartment complex, which was effectively used by the Bey organization as a secured compound. Nedir Bey received six months of home detention while Abaz Bey was sentenced to eight months under similar conditions.

1996 municipal loan

In 1996, the City of Oakland extended a $1.1 million loan to Your Black Muslim Bakery to initiate a home health care enterprise. This loan remained unpaid, and the proposed home health care business never materialized.

Yusuf Bey rape allegations and trial

Critics of Yusuf Bey—most notably East Bay Express journalist Chris Thompson—accused him of operating a cult-like organization, engaging in corruption, and harboring antisemitic views. Multiple allegations surfaced accusing Bey of various forms of abuse, including physical violence and sexual offenses such as rape and incest, supported by DNA evidence. These accusations culminated in felony charges that were unresolved at the time of his death.

On September 19, 2002, following the issuance of an arrest warrant, Bey surrendered himself to Oakland Police. He faced 27 counts related to alleged rapes involving four girls under fourteen years old. The legal proceedings extended into the subsequent year. The earliest accusation involved repeated sexual assault over twenty years prior against a preteen girl who had entered foster care under Bey and his wife Nora when she was ten years old. Yusuf Bey passed away from cancer in October 2003 at age 67 while awaiting trial on these charges.

Waajid Bey

Inside the bakery, May 2002. The plaque above honors Mohammed S. Bey with cum laude distinction from Howard University.

After Yusuf Bey passed away in 2003, Waajid Aliawaad Bey assumed the role of chief executive officer at YBMB. In March 2004, at 51 years old, Waajid vanished for several months until his severely decomposed remains were found in a shallow grave near Skyline Blvd. in the Oakland Hills. Authorities concluded that he had been murdered.[1][6]

Antar Bey

Following Waajid’s death, leadership of YBMB passed to Yusuf Bey’s son, Antar Bey. On October 25, 2005, at just 23 years old, Antar was fatally shot during what police suspect was an unsuccessful carjacking while he was stopped for gas on Martin Luther King Jr. Way near 55th Street.[1][6] On December 14, 2007, Alfonza Phillips III received a life imprisonment sentence for Antar’s murder.[7] Another son, Yusuf Bey IV, took control of YBMB in October 2005.[6]

Yusuf Bey IV

At 19 years old in 2005, Yusuf Bey IV stepped into the CEO position of YBMB. Court records later indicated that "The Bakery did not thrive under the leadership of Antar or [Yusuf Bey IV]."[8] Both Antar and Yusuf IV made numerous unwise financial choices that ultimately forced the bakery to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006. In 2007, Yusuf IV declined a funding offer from his sister’s husband's family because it required him to restructure the board and bring in qualified external management—a condition he refused to accept.[8]

In November 2005, two liquor stores owned by Muslims in Oakland were subjected to vandalism, with one incident captured on surveillance video. Another store was set on fire, and its owner was briefly kidnapped by men wearing the distinctive bow-tie attire associated with the NOI. These individuals demanded that the stores cease selling alcohol to African Americans due to Islamic prohibitions. Yusuf Bey IV was arrested among others and charged with orchestrating these attacks.[1][6] Additionally, he was convicted of stealing a shotgun from an employee at one of these stores; this weapon was later used in the murder of Chauncey Bailey.[8]

In February 2006, Yusuf IV faced arrest in nearby Vallejo and was convicted on multiple charges related to a fraudulent scheme involving the purchase of a $55,000 luxury Mercedes-Benz from a used car dealership using counterfeit credit information and false identification. He also faced charges for attempting to open a bank account with forged credentials. Vallejo authorities dropped charges related to a 9mm pistol and ammunition discovered during an investigation into the disappearance of an alleged drug dealer who had tried to sell narcotics to high school students.

In April 2006, Yusuf IV was apprehended in San Francisco on assault allegations after allegedly attempting to run over three security guards outside a strip club with his BMW following his ejection from the premises. Subsequently, he faced charges for missing multiple court appearances,[1] leading to a $375,000 warrant issued for his arrest.[6][9] Court documents later revealed that he used stolen identification along with a fabricated driver's license under the alias Yasir Human to fraudulently secure favorable credit terms for purchasing a property on the 2500 block of 61st Avenue. The loan amounting to US$550,000 was provided by CIT Group/Consumer Finance Inc.[10]

Sayyed Yusuf Bey

Portrait of Sayyed Yusuf Bey

Sayyed Yusuf "Weedy" Bey was among the elder sons of the senior Yusuf Bey. After completing his studies at the Elijah Education Center in 1994, he joined the True Solutions production team as a camera operator and also worked as a baker at YBMB. In 1998, Sayyed appeared in a minor role in the feature film Drylongso. That same year, he relocated to Los Angeles to follow his interest in exotic cars, eventually owning Quick N Shine Auto Detail and serving clients including celebrities from the Wayans family. On February 24, 2009, Sayyed died by suicide on Burnside Avenue in Los Angeles. Due to the ongoing murder trial of Yusuf IV, the Bey family chose not to release any obituary announcements in the Los Angeles area.

2006 bankruptcy

On October 24, 2006, YBMB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The bakery faced approximately $900,000 in liabilities, primarily owed to the mortgage lender, with foreclosure looming on the property. An additional $200,000 was owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Following the murder of Chauncey Bailey on August 2, 2007, Judge Edward Jellen ordered that the bankruptcy case be converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation, effective August 9.

Political fallout

In July 2007, it emerged that three prominent local elected officials had submitted letters to Judge Jellen urging him not to dissolve YBMB in order to satisfy creditors. These letters were authored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, and California Assemblyman Sandré Swanson, all at the behest of longtime YBMB affiliate Ali Saleem Bey. Barbara Lee later expressed regret for her endorsement. Dellums’ office explained that Ali had conveyed intentions to restore YBMB to its foundational principles by regaining control. Swanson’s letter dated July 17, 2007 initially led his office to admit an error and claimed he was unaware of legal issues surrounding bakery leadership. Subsequently, Swanson’s office clarified that the letter was a routine reply to a standard request from small businesses and that their earlier statement did not reflect the assemblyman’s official stance.

Elmhurst-East Oakland City Council member Larry Reid disclosed that he declined Bey’s request for a similar letter supporting YBMB in July. Reid cited the bakery’s failure to repay a loan from 1996 and well-publicized criminal allegations against Bey organization leaders at that time—including incidents related to a liquor store in 2005—as reasons for his refusal. While Reid acknowledged respect for the bakery’s older leadership under John and Ali Bey, he stated that this respect alone was insufficient grounds for support.

2006 Health Code Infractions

On December 19, 2006, the main bakery facility of YBMB located on San Pablo Avenue was cited for four significant health code breaches during an inspection conducted by the Alameda County Environmental Health Department. The inspection revealed hazardous sanitary conditions severe enough to warrant immediate shutdown if corrections were not promptly made, as per department regulations. Despite these findings, the bakery continued operations, and no subsequent inspections were documented. The critical violations identified involved grease buildup, absence of smooth and easily sanitized surfaces, insufficient ventilation in the stove hood, and poor lighting conditions. Additionally, inspectors noted four minor infractions related to employee conduct and hygiene.

Kidnapping Incident in May 2007

According to Oakland Police reports, three individuals connected to YBMB, including Yusuf IV, admitted involvement in the abduction of two women—a mother and her daughter—on May 17, 2007. Court documents and police affidavits indicate that 20-year-old Joshua Bey and 21-year-old Tamon Oshun Halfin surveilled the victims at a bingo hall located in Foothill Square, East Oakland. Both men acknowledged that Yusuf IV instructed them to monitor the women and alert him upon their departure. The suspects believed that the women and a male companion carried substantial amounts of cash intended for acquisition by the bakery.

Joshua and Halfin operated a vehicle disguised as a police car, complete with flashing lights, registered under Yusuf IV's name. They stopped the women on Interstate 580 while wearing dark attire and masks, then forcibly placed them at gunpoint into the counterfeit police vehicle. A third individual drove the women's car while following behind. The victims were taken to a residence on the 6800 block of Avenal Avenue—approximately two miles from the bingo location—a property reportedly owned by YBMB and used as a rental unit. The mother remained inside her vehicle while the daughter was brought into the house where she endured physical assault with a blunt instrument to her head and knee and was threatened with immolation. An Oakland Police officer patrolling nearby for a stolen vehicle noticed the fake police car containing the mother and upon investigation caused the perpetrators to flee. The daughter escaped by breaking a window and calling for assistance. Authorities recovered a cell phone belonging to Joshua at the premises.

Subsequently, Joshua and Halfin were apprehended during a raid on the bakery premises. Yusuf IV was detained without bail on kidnapping-for-ransom charges related to this case.

Roberson Homicide, July 2007

On July 7, 2007, Odel Roberson, who was related to Alfonza Phillips III—the individual killed by Antar Bey—was fatally shot in the 1000 block of 60th Street. At the time, Roberson was homeless and struggled with drug addiction, frequently relying on food donations from YBMB. Although he had no connection to Bey’s murder, after unsuccessful attempts to kill Alfonza Phillips' father, Yusuf Bey IV ordered Devaughndre Broussard and Antone Mackey to kill Roberson as an act of retaliation for Antar Bey’s death. The perpetrators enticed Roberson with the promise of drugs, then Broussard fired at him at least eight times. The court later noted that "Broussard had no prior issues with Roberson and no motive to kill him other than Bey’s directive."

Wills Homicide, July 2007

Five days later, on July 12, 2007, Mike Wills Jr. was shot and killed in the 6200 block of San Pablo Avenue. On August 6, law enforcement revealed that an AK-47 confiscated during a raid on the bakery was linked to both this killing and the previous one, though no charges were filed at that time. Devaughndre Broussard later disclosed that Antoine Mackey was responsible for Wills’ murder because Wills was white. Mackey and Bey were reportedly influenced by the racially driven Zebra murders, which Yusuf Bey IV allegedly supported enthusiastically as a way to give white people "a taste of their own medicine."

Kidnapping Incident, July 2007

In connection with those arrested during the subsequent YBMB raid, another kidnapping occurred on July 19, 2007. Several women were abducted for ransom but eventually managed to escape their captors.

Murder of Chauncey Bailey

Main article: Murder of Chauncey Bailey

Before his fatal shooting in August 2007, Chauncey Bailey, editor of the Oakland Post, was investigating YBMB’s financial situation amid its looming bankruptcy. Ali Saleem Bey served as Bailey’s source for this story, which the Post chose not to publish immediately, believing it was premature.

Ali alleged that YBMB had been unlawfully seized from its legitimate heirs through fraudulent means by a younger family faction that included Antar Bey and Yusuf Bey IV. He revealed that in June 2005, John Bey—a former head of Bey security who attempted to expose this fraud—was forced to flee Oakland with his family following an assassination attempt near his residence. In that same year, Antar mortgaged the bakery property to cover outstanding taxes and debts but subsequently defaulted, risking foreclosure.

On August 2, 2007, Bailey was murdered in Downtown Oakland by Devaughndre Broussard, a 19-year-old handyman associated with YBMB who was on probation for a robbery conviction in San Francisco. Broussard maintained close ties with Yusuf Bey IV and was deeply involved in YBMB’s operations. Prior to the killing, Bey falsely accused Bailey of causing his father’s death—a claim contradicted by the fact that Bey’s father died from cancer. Bey then instructed Broussard and Mackey to track Bailey’s movements because he wanted him eliminated.

Yusuf Bey IV offered both men incentives such as “credit hook-ups” to carry out the murder swiftly, fearing Bailey’s exposé on YBMB’s illicit activities would soon be published.

The California Court of Appeal detailed the incident in People v. Mackey (233 Cal. App. 4th 32 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015), paragraph 15) as follows:

“Mackey and Broussard followed the bus route until spotting Bailey walking nearby. Mackey deemed the location too risky so they proceeded further and parked near 14th and Alice Streets awaiting Bailey's arrival. When Broussard saw Bailey approach that intersection, he exited the van quickly and shot him twice in the torso at close range before attempting to flee across the street. Remembering Bey's instruction to ensure Bailey was dead, Broussard returned and fired a third shot into Bailey’s face before returning to the vehicle. Afterward, Mackey drove them back to the bakery where they informed Bey ‘It’s done.’”

Eyewitnesses described the assailant—later identified as Broussard—as clad entirely in black with a ski mask, arriving in a white Ford Aerostar lacking license plates and armed with a Mossberg shotgun stolen by Yusuf Bey IV in 2005. Following the shooting, Broussard fled in the van.

Initially denying involvement—including during a 60 Minutes interview—Broussard ultimately confessed to police that he ambushed and killed Bailey under Bey's orders and implicated Antoine Mackey as the driver during the murder.

Closure of bakery and legal outcomes

Following the discovery of rat feces inside the bakery and deceased rodents on the roof, along with other waste contaminating drainage systems, the Alameda County Health Department ordered the shutdown of YBMB. During the enforcement action, law enforcement enlisted Oakland's Vector Control, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the environmental crimes division of the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. Potential daily penalties could have amounted to $5,000.[11]

On August 4, 2007, Broussard was taken into custody on suspicion of murder in connection with Bailey’s death, having informed investigators that he viewed himself as "a good soldier." On the same day, Yusuf IV was apprehended based on an outstanding San Francisco warrant and was detained without bail related to a kidnapping-for-ransom incident from May. His brother Joshua, Halfin, and another individual arrested earlier were held concerning previous kidnappings, including an assault case from May.[9][12]

Broussard appeared in Alameda County Superior Court on August 7, facing charges for Bailey’s murder as well as allegations of possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon and holding a prior felony conviction from San Francisco.[13] In August 2011, he received a 25-year prison sentence.[14] Yusuf IV was found guilty on June 11, 2011, of three counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.[15] In 2015, an appellate court confirmed the convictions against Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tribune4
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Express
  3. ↑ "Scarfing", The Oakland Tribune, June 6, 1974(subscription)retrieved February 19, 2008)
  4. ↑ Matthai Kuruvila; Kevin Fagan & Jaxon Van Derbeken (January 27, 2008). "Muslim Bakery head wielded political clout". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
  5. ↑ O'Connell, Kevin (2004). The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press. p. 486. ISBN 1-59228-159-1. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tribune13
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Chron3
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :0
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tribune5
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tribune14
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tribune3
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tribune9
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tribune11
  14. ↑ ">sentenced "Devaughndre Broussard Sentenced: Chauncey Bailey's Killer Gets 25 Years In Prison". The Huffington Post. August 14, 2011.
  15. ↑ "The Man Behind Oakland Editor's Killing is Convicted". BET.
  16. ↑ Henry K. Lee (January 15, 2015). "2 lose appeal in killing of Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey". SFGate.

External links

Template:Oakland, California

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