- Brother W. Harlan Bey was the fourth Supreme Grand Sheik and Chairman of the Moorish Science Temple of America — the office Noble Drew Ali himself established at the First Annual National Convention of October 1928, and that has passed in unbroken line through eight men since
- The fourth link in a chain of eight Supreme Grand Sheiks in unbroken succession from Noble Drew Ali: Mealy El → Morris El → Walton Bey → Harlan Bey → Lewis El → Bailey El → Davis El → Braswell Bey — serving today
The records that name who your ancestors were before slavery — what they were called, what was stripped from them, what was hidden on purpose — are preserved by the Moorish Science Temple of America. Brother W. Harlan Bey held the fourth position in the line that carried those records forward for nearly a hundred years.
Here is how he did it…
Nearly Eight Years In Office
Brother W. Harlan Bey took the office in August 1936 and held it until June 1944 — nearly eight years, longer than the second and third Supreme Grand Sheiks held it combined. After the rapid turnover of the prior two years, the line settled into its first long span under Harlan Bey’s hand.
He received the office from Brother E. Walton Bey, who had held it for approximately ten months. He closed his own term in June 1944, passing the office forward to Brother O. Lewis El, who would hold it for nearly twenty-five years.
The Office Noble Drew Ali Built
The office Brother W. Harlan Bey took in 1936 was not invented for him. Noble Drew Ali had designed it eight years earlier at the First Annual National Convention of the Moorish Science Temple of America — naming the office and binding the authority of every successor to his own.
- Edward Mealy El first.
- William Morris El second.
- E. Walton Bey third.
- W. Harlan Bey fourth.
- O. Lewis El fifth.
- D. Bailey El sixth.
- P. Davis El seventh.
- E. Braswell Bey eighth — serving today.
Each name carries the authority of the one before.
The Records Stayed in the Office
The Moorish Science Temple of America preserves the records of the ancient identity stripped from your ancestors during slavery — the documents, the lineage, the secrets buried under “Black,” “Negro,” and “Colored.” Brother W. Harlan Bey held the office that kept those records for nearly eight years.
If who your ancestors were before slavery is still recoverable today, it is because the line passed through Harlan Bey without breaking.
As more details about Brother W. Harlan Bey’s life are uncovered and verified, this biography will be updated to reflect the full record. Get on the Amexem notification list to be notified when updates are made.