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Yusuf Bey

African-American activist and religious leader (1935–2003)

Yusuf Bey (born Joseph Stephens; December 21, 1935 – September 30, 2003) was an American Black Muslim activist and leader who was a member of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, an offshoot of Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam (NOI).2

From Wikipedia’s article on Yusuf Bey (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Dec 21, 1935, died Sep 30, 2003.1

About

After discovering the teachings of Elijah Muhammed in the 1960s, he adopted the name Yusuf Bey and moved to Oakland, California, and then Santa Barbara, California, where in 1968 he opened a bakery. The bakery moved to Oakland by 1971. Renamed Your Black Muslim Bakery, it became the center of a local Black nationalist community. Held out at the time as a model of African-American economic self-sufficiency, the business fell apart after Bey's death and a series of murders linked to criminal activities.

From Wikipedia’s article on Yusuf Bey, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

Early years

Bey was born and raised in Greenville, Texas. As a student in the early 1950s, he moved with his family to Oakland, California, where he attended Oakland Technical High School, and then enlisted for four years in the U.S. Air Force. He first obtained a cosmetology degree and ran beauty salons in neighboring Berkeley and then in the southern city of Santa Barbara before going into the bakery business instead. Having converted to Islam in 1964, Bey founded the Islamic bakery in Santa Barbara in 1968. The group was not affiliated with Louis Farrakhan's movement, the Nation of Islam, though early connections and similarities were evident. Nation of Islam minister Keith Muhammad, of East Oakland's Muhammad Mosque #26, stated that the two organizations are distinct and separate.

The baked goods Bey sold were in accordance with strict Muslim diets and free of refined sugar, fats, and preservatives. He named the business Your Black Muslim Bakery on the personal recommendation of his spiritual guide, the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. In 1971, Bey moved the bakery to Oakland.

From Wikipedia’s article on Yusuf Bey (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: businessperson.4

Personal life

  • BornDec 21, 1935, Greenville5
  • DiedSep 30, 2003, Oakland6
  • CitizenshipUnited States7

Sources

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