Biography
Bey was raised in a small town in 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. In his first business venture he obtained a cosmetology degree and ran beauty salons in neighboring Berkeley, California and then in the southern city of Santa Barbara, California 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, 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.
Further information: Your Black Muslim BakeryRead more about this topic: Yusuf Bey
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