The Chauncey Bailey Project | 2008

Profiles of abuse

A look at the people, four who alleged they were sexually assaulted as adolescents, involved in civil cases against Your Black Muslim Bakery founder Yusuf Ali Bey.

A chronology of abuse

A chronology of the sexual and physical abuse that Yusuf Bey was accused of committing against several girls and women from 1968 to 2002, from civil suit testimony and police reports.

Women, Part I: One police officer cracked abuse case against Yusuf Bey

For 30 years, authorities did nothing to stop Your Black Muslim Bakery patriarch Yusuf Bey’s abuse of women and girls, but Oakland police officer Jim Saleda got him arrested in less than three months.

Women, Part II: Testimony reveals a life of abuse, toil for women of Your Black Muslim Bakery

Testimony from a civil suit contends that Yusuf Ali Bey regularly beat and raped some women and girls, who said they were kept out of school, worked long hours at the bakery and often without pay.

Fear kept abuse victims from seeking any help

Women and girls were afraid to report Yusuf Bey’s physical and sexual abuse to authorities, because fear — and stories of others’ deaths — kept them from speaking out, they testified years later.

Reports to authorities of abuse

A parent, step-parent and other adults reported suspicions of abuse of children in proximity of Yusuf Bey or in the care of his spiritual wife, Nora Bey, in at least 10 cases, with no result.