Chauncey Bailey was an American journalist based in Oakland. He was born there in October of 1949. His work mainly consisted of issues in the African-American communities. He attended Hayward High School before getting his Associate’s from Merrit Community College in Oakland and earned his Bachelor’s in Journalism from San Jose university. He worked for 37 years as a journalist for publications such as, The Detroit News, The Oakland Tribune. He also dabbled briefly in on-air news as a television reporter; and hosted his own radio show before finally landing the position of editor-in-chief at The Oakland Post.
During his career Bailey had written several articles about the problems of “Your Black Muslim Bakery.”
Background on Your Black Muslim Bakery:
Yusuf Bey founded the bakery that sold baked goods in accordance with the Qur’an in Santa Barbara in 1968. Bey named the business on the personal recommendation of his spiritual guide, Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Bey relocated to Oakland in 1971 with the headquarters being his San Pablo Avenue location. At its height in the mid-1990s YBMB had eight bakery outlets.
Things began to unravel for Bey in the late 1990’s when accusations of physical and sexual abuse began to surface. Bey turned himself in to Oakland Police in 2002 when a warrant was issued for his arrest alleging him of 27 counts of rape involving underaged girls. Bey died of cancer in October 2003 at age 67 while the first case was awaiting trial.
The businesses were left to Bey’s heirs, two of whom were killed in violent circumstances between 2004-2005. Yusuf Bey IV took over the business in 2005 and YBMB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year later.
During his career, Bailey was investigating the business and feared there was corruption within it. He intended to expose the internal workings of the group as well as its financial connections in the community. This includes physical and sexual abuse, intimidation, welfare fraud and murder. Bailey was working on a story about how the bakery was going under and was in debt for around $1,000,000 dollars.
On August 2, 2007, while on his way to work, a masked man dressed in black clothes approaches Bailey, on a street in downtown Oakland. The man shoots Bailey multiple times at close range before fleeing on foot; and Bailey is pronounced dead at the scene.
When commenting on Bailey’s death, one of his former editors at the Detroit News said, “Everyone’s right to speak freely was assailed that day. It was, truly, “an assault on the American way of life.
The day after the killing, a man by the name of Devaughndre Brousard, a handyman and occasional cook at the Bakery, confesses to killing Bailey. He states that he was angered by the story he was working on and wanted to prevent it from being published.His attorney later says that the confession may have been a forced one.
Fast forward to 2009, and whether it’s a change of heart or having absolutely nothing left to lose, Brousard then recounts his original confession—saying that Yusuf Bey IV, the leader of the bakery, ordered him to kill Bailey. Two years later, Bey, and an accomplice by the name of Antoine Mackey, is brought in on charges of ordering that assassination. Brousard testifies against them both in exchange for a 25-year sentence, and they are both found guilty of first degree murder and ordered to serve life without the possibility of parole. Police also ended up raiding the bakery, giving way to even more evidence of criminal activites.
In 2009, Brousard told Almeda grand jury that he was ordered by Yusuf Bey IV, leader of the bakery,to kill Bailey. In 2011, Bey and Mackey were brought in for planning the assassination of Bailey. Antoine Mackey was brought in on charges for being an accomplice. Brousard testified against the two in exchange for a 25 year sentence. Bey and Mackey were both found guilty of first degree murder and ordered to life without parole. Many more charges were brought up as police conducted a raid on the bakery finding evidence for other criminal activities.
Since then, the Chauncey Bailey Project started in honor of the journalist. Reporters and close colleagues started the project in his honor to answer questions about his death. The project’s website states, “You can’t kill a story by killing a journalist.” In 2008, the project released a recording of Bey describing the murder of Bailey and how he tricked investigator by not knowing anything. The story was never published and the bakery ended up closing due to health inspection.
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