Chauncey Bailey: A Committed Journalist

On August 2, Chauncey Bailey, a journalist known for his outspoken views and hard-hitting reporting on urban issues was gunned down in broad daylight on a street in Oakland, California.

According to local police sources, a 19-year-old handyman for a bakery targeted in an extensive criminal investigation has confessed to the murder.

While friends and colleagues of the slain editor contended with their grief, Bay Area community leaders came together to discuss ways of ending the ongoing gun violence besieging that region and so many others across the United States.

At the time of his murder, Bailey was working on a story about the owners of Your Black Muslim bakery, the linchpin in a chain of for-profit and nonprofit organizations founded by a long-time Oakland activist named Yusuf Bey, who died in 2003. According to a biography of Bey on the company's website, he founded the company and developed its products in accordance with the dietary principles laid out in the writings of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam. Police say Bey's organization is not affiliated with the NOI, currently led by Min. Louis Farrakhan.

According to news reports, at one time, Your Black Muslim Bakery was respected for its apparent ability to provide jobs, reform ex-convicts and contribute to the improvement and empowerment of the Oakland community. Bey and his deputies had extensive contacts among local politicians, journalists and community leaders. In recent years, however, the Bey family and their associates have been accused of a range of crimes, including murders, kidnappings, child rape and torture.

Bailey's editor at the Oakland Post reportedly told police that Bailey had been working on an article about Your Black Muslim Bakery's finances. The company is currently going through bankruptcy proceedings, according to news reports.

On Friday morning, police raided the bakery in connection with the investigation of the murder of Bailey and two others. They arrested seven people, including a grandson of Yusuf Bey. No charges had been filed against them as of this writing, but the bakery bakery has been closed because of unsanitary conditions found there.

The alleged killer, Devaughndre Broussard, was arrested Friday night. According to a story about Broussard's confession, he committed the murder because he was upset about Bailey's reporting.

If Chauncey Bailey had been able to cover this story, it's likely he would have wanted to know more about how Broussard allegedly found himself gunning down an unarmed man in cold blood last Tuesday morning. A perusal of an online archive of his stories for the Oakland Tribune shows that he often reported on the struggles and triumphs of the community's local youth.

Surely, Bailey would have been riveted by this detail: In 2003, Broussard was part of a group of local tenth-graders lauded for their performance in a stock market simulation sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. However, Broussard was reportedly on probation for robbery at the time of the murder and had recently begun his second stint as an employee at the bakery after failed to find other employment.

How could a young man with so much promise go so wrong? It would be a great testament to Chauncey Bailey if this senseless episode sparked a new dedication to finding an answer.

[Hat tips to Liz Ditz, and Richard Prince fo their comprehensive ongoing coverage of this story.]

Submitted by Kim Pearson (view blog

) on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 19:07

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When I worked next to Chauncey Bailey

in the Oakland Tribune newsroom, he was a superb and daily reminder of the proud tradition of Bob Maynard's Tribune, not the Dean Singleton /Media News paper that hired me to cover transportation. (Mr. Maynard was the first black owner of a major metropolitan daily in the U.S.)

Chauncey was an exceptional reporter. And for me, a leader and an example. Through Bailey's eyes, I saw the white, externalized coverage of Oakland's black community for what it was: An imposition and a major missed opportunity.

This is an incredible loss to journalism in the Bay Area. And my heart is breaking for his family.

Kim, thanks. I just cannot believe this.

-- Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 07:00

Thanks, Kim

This is a horrible, but important story. I didn't know much about Mr. Bailey before today, so thanks for giving us so many resources.

It's so hard for me to understand how anyone can be driven to murder, but it happens so often that there must be so many drivers that I don't understand. Nonetheless, every time I read about such a story I almost feel physical pain, along with the emotional response. Why waste a life? Or two? So wrong, and especially when the person killed was so obviously a force for good. It's ALWAYS a risk to tell the hard truths - Im' proud that there are some in the profession who are willing in spite of the danger to themselves.

Thanks for the extra insight too, Lisa.

Laurie

Submitted by lauriewrites on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 07:30

The courage to tell the truth, regardless of
consequences

Lisa,
Thank you for sharing your personal memories of Bailey. I thought about you from the moment that I read of his murder -- I was sure that you must have known him from your time at the Tribune. I am sorry for your loss.

Laurie,
I understand what you mean about physical pain. The tragedy in this case is compounded by the fact that Bailey was killed because of his journalism . That is something that we associate with other countries, not our own. The last targeted kiling of a journalist in the US was in 1993.

A new controversy has started among journalists over the lack of national press coverage of Bailey's murder. According to Richard Prince's latest column some journalists think Bailey's murder would have been more heavily covered had he been white. Some observers see parallels between Bailey's murder and that of Daniel Pearl, in that both men were murdered by people described as Muslim extremists.

Whatever one thinks of the coverage, the response from journalists should be clear. When one reporter is killed for his reporting, dozens more should pounce on the story even more aggressively. That's what happened after Don Bolles was murdered in 1976. The aggressive response from journalists led to the founding of the Society of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

And as more bloggers become involved in investigative journalism, we might consider how many of us would be willing to pay the price Bailey paid in order to report the news without fear or favor.

BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim

Submitted by Kim Pearson on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 16:34

"When one reporter is killed for his
reporting...

"...dozens more should pounce on the story even more aggressively."

Amen Kim.

Kim, Laurie, I only wish I'd known Chauncey better. He was private, devoted to his kids and to the community, and was extremely focused when he was in the office. I watched and took notes, and he was pretty patient with my questions.

It really makes me proud to be part of BlogHer when you are taking the time to join a story that is missing from the national headlines. Bravo and thank you.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 19:38

Blogging and Danger; is YBMB Really "An
Islamic Group"?

Hi Kim,

You wrote:

And as more bloggers become involved in investigative journalism, we might consider how many of us would be willing to pay the price Bailey paid in order to report the news without fear or favor.

I think that is what so moved me about the story.

It wasn't even front page news in the San Jose Mercury News. Today's story (on Broussard's confession) is inside the local news.

http://www.mercurynews.com/alamedacounty/ci_6553995

And I am not sure that Yusuf Bey's organization (known as Your Black Muslim Bakery) should be considered an "Islamic group" --rather a splinter cult, sort of the way the Branch Davidians should be a splinter cult rather than a "Christian group". In other words, using the trappings of Black Muslim rhetoric for personal gain.

See the Rick Ross Institute's collection of stories

http://www.rickross.com/groups/bakery.html

The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey is a database of information about cults, destructive cults, controversial groups and movements. The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey (RRI) is a nonprofit public resource with a vast archive that contains thousands of individual documents.)

Liz Ditz
I Speak of Dreams
lizditz@gmail.com

Submitted by lizditz on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 10:47

Christopher Hitchens Blames Kow-towing to
"Faith Based" Orgs

Christopher Hitchens, writing in Slate today, addresses the way YBMB used the veil of faith to run an empire of thuggery:

http://www.slate.com/id/2171745/

Now, again, I am just asking, but what if this racket had been named the White Christian or Aryan Nations Cookie Parlor? (Motto and mission statement: "Don't F*** With Us.") I think that Oakland's mayor, Ron Dellums—who I was startled to find was still alive—would have joined a picket line around the store (as would I). The same would doubtless have been true of Rep. Barbara Lee, in whose district the YBMB was situated. But instead, in its role as a "community business," the YBMB enjoyed warm support and endorsement from both the mayor and the congresswoman. And the guns for past and future slayings were inside the store.

If this isn't softness on crime, then the term is meaningless. Residents have been complaining for a long time about the atmosphere of hatred and violence—and about what some have called the YBMB's attempt to "cleanse" the neighborhood, either of godless liquor stores on the model of jihadism or simply of business rivals and journalistic critics. What were the police doing all this time, and why did Chauncey Bailey have to be murdered before they could be moved to act? Perhaps they were doing what they do best: confiscating marijuana and rousting whores so as to painlessly improve the crime statistics. I called Bob Valladon, the extremely rude and graceless head of the Oakland police union, but I didn't even get to put my question before receiving a large flea in my ear. Other California law-enforcement officials were adamant in refusing to be quoted in any way. I can't say I blame them: Thousands of their voters and citizens are living in Third World conditions of fear, with a "no-snitch" policy openly enforced at gunpoint, and they cannot be troubled to do anything about it.

This official apathy—amounting to collusion—is undergirded by a culture that cringingly insists on "respect" for any organization, however depraved, that can masquerade as "faith-based." If I had stood outside that hideous bakery with a sign saying "Black Muslims Are Racists and Fanatics," I think the cops would have turned up in a flat second and taken me into custody. I might well have been charged with a hate crime. As I have written before and am sure I will write again: This has to stop, and it has to stop right now, before sharia baking comes to a place near you.

It is a difficult call.

Liz Ditz
I Speak of Dreams
lizditz@gmail.com

Submitted by lizditz on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 10:55

Hi Liz!

First, it's great to hear from you. I appreciate your efforts to stay on top of this story. A few points:

Is this an "Islamic" group? I was deliberate in saying that some people refer to them as Muslim extremists because the answer seems to depend upon what you think that means.

The Oakland police, as well as the Nation of Islam, say that YBMB is not affiliated with any established Muslim organization. Neither does the YBMB website make that claim. The website says that Yusuf Bey was influenced by the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, who died in 1975. However, the version of Islam that Elijah Muhammad taught is not orthodox Islam, and it is not espoused by any of his successors. So, I would say that it's self-identified as a Muslim group, perhaps, but it's not part of a recognized religious organization.

Historically, the term "Black Muslim" referred to members of the NOI during the years that Muhammad ran the organization. If you stood outside of YBMB with a sign saying, "Black Muslims are Racists and Fanatics," one might easily think you were referring to the Nation of Islam. You may in fact feel that way, but then, standing in front of YBMB with that sign would make even less sense.

Would the police cart you away? Wouldn't it depend upon the laws governing a protest on private property in that municipality, as well as whether there was a threat to public safety?

As I know you are aware, there are bloggers who have used the incident to make unfounded generalizations about American Muslims. I deliberately didn't link to them.

I'm afraid the redoubtable Mr. Hitchens has an ax to grind against religion that muddies his argument in this instance. He latest book blames religion for all of the evils of the world. Because he has that belief, he tells us, sans evidence that the police and politicians were soft on YBMB
because of its religious self-description. Perhaps he is right, but he does not consider competing explanations. Street gangs and organized crime families elude prosecution and conviction regularly for reasons that have nothing to do with religion.

None of this is to deflect the questions being asked about why the police or Mayor Ron Dellums haven't been more aggressive against YBMB, or violent crime overall. It's simply to say that Hitchens seems to be tailoring the evidence to his preconceptions. That's just not helpful.

BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|Contributing Writer, Online Journalism Review

Submitted by Kim Pearson on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 11:38

Chauncey Bailey

I worked with Chanuncey on Soul Beat. He created my show called "Computer Beat" before the Internet was big and before there were DVD's. He was my brother and very close friend who I loved to laugh and smile with after each "home-made" home grown show.

I remember his bluntness and straight-to-the point journals and I remember he always would say: "Saying a little, is worth a lot." So true, and to this day, his words are true. He fell like when we lost Steve Orwin (spelling) who became a victim for trying to save an endangered species and was killed by the people he loved.

Oakland needs to create and name a street after him, for he was that much a man who cared about fairness for all people and he would use any media outlet he could to teach.

I was in Atlanta when I heard of this news and it was very gut-wrinching and I am still trying to come to grips of the who thing. Man this is horrible news and I pray for all those who loved him as much as I did and will for evermore.

I love you Chauncey, and you will always be my HERO!

Hakeem-

Submitted by Hakeem on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 16:11

Hakeem, I agree

I agree that naming an Oakland street after Chauncey would be a terrific tribute. Thank you so much for writing down your tribute here. That much a man indeed. He wore a suit and a conscience every day and woe betide you for any thoughtless remark you might make about the community he was bringing into the paper:

Oakland needs to create and name a street after him, for he was that much a man who cared about fairness for all people and he would use any media outlet he could to teach.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 19:43

Another experience with YBMB; scholarship for
Bailey's son

In this Village Voice article. Chris Thompson says Bailey told him about threats he had received from people at Your Black Muslim Bakery. He also talks about what happened to him after his own exposes on the group were published.

Also, a scholarship fund has been created for Bailey's 13-year-old son. According to news reports, Bailey was a single father.

BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Submitted by Kim Pearson on Wed, 08/15/2007 - 14:10