Maurice bessinger biography

Maurice Bessinger

American restaurateur (–)

Lloyd Maurice Bessinger Sr. (July 14, – February 22, ) was an American BBQ restaurateur and politician noted for his defense of racial segregation.[1][2]

Early life

Bessinger was born in Orangeburg County, South Carolina on July 14, and served in the Army on the front lines of the Korean War, returning to the US in [3][4]

Piggie Park and Carolina Gold

Bessinger, along with his brother Joe Jr., opened their first drive-in restaurant, Maurice's Piggie Park, in West Columbia, South Carolina in [1][2] By , he had four drive-ins,[3] and by the chain had grown to nine restaurants.[5] The South Carolina-style barbecue was and continues to be well-regarded, and Piggie Park has been included in multiple compilations of the best barbecue in the United States.[6][7] On October 26th, , the Maurice's Barbeque offices, smoke pits and side factory in West Columbia caught fire and burned down.

The restaurant and historic sign survived. [8]

Bessinger also sold BBQ sauce under the Carolina Gold brand[1] whose recipe included mustard, brown sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar.[9] By , this had become the largest BBQ operation in the United States.[2]

Piggie Park restaurants were segregated, such that African-Americans were not allowed to eat inside the restaurants, until a lawsuit, Newman v.

Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. won an injunction in [3]

Segregation lawsuit

Main article: Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc.

In , Anne Newman, the wife of an African-American minister, sued Piggie Park after Bessinger refused her entry to his restaurant. Newman sued under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of , and won an injunction against the chain requiring them to stop refusing service to African-Americans.

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    • At the Supreme Court, this case also set a precedent assigning attorney's fees to someone who successfully sues for an injunction under the act.[10]

    Confederate flags

    On July 1, , the state of South Carolina stopped flying the Confederate Flag over the capitol, following a vote earlier that year.

    In response, Bessinger raised Confederate flags over his restaurants,[11] also calling the flags "a real Christian symbol fighting tyranny and terror and suppressive government."[12]

    A number of grocery chains responded by dropping his Carolina Gold sauce from their shelves.[13] The Council of Conservative Citizens and the South Carolina Heritage Coalition responded with a call to boycott Wal-Mart,[12] and Bessinger filed a lawsuit against Bi-Lo, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Publix, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, and Winn-Dixie, arguing that their refusal to carry his products violated South Carolina's Unfair Trading Practices Act and intruded onto his right to free speech.

    Bessinger asked for $50 million in damages. The South Carolina Supreme Court rejected his claims in [14]

    After Bessinger's children took over the operation, they took down these flags, the last of them in [15]

    Orangeburg Location

    In , Bessinger sold part of the Edisto restaurant property, approximately square feet (including a flagpole and Confederate flag), to the organization Sons of Confederate Veterans Rivers Bridge Camp [16][17] for $5.[18]

    The remainder of the property, approximately 18, square feet, was sold in to Tommy Daras, who began operating a new restaurant called Edisto River Creamery & Kitchen.[19]

    Daras ignored the flag until "shortly after the massacre at Mother Emanuel, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans showed up, took down the flag, and replaced it with a new one that was three times as big.

    “Before, I’d just sucked it up, but then it was, like, ‘Man, I’ve got to try to do something here,’ ” Daras said, explaining that he could no longer abide “this huge flag sticking up in the air telling everyone to screw themselves.”[20] Daras – whose business suffered due to perceived association with the flag, yet was also criticized for wanting it gone – hired a lawyer to find a way to compel its removal.

    However, in , the Orangeburg zoning board rejected the legal argument that the flagpole did not comply with the site’s business zoning requirements.[21]

    In defeat, Daras put the restaurant property up for sale in [22]

    Views on race and religion

    Bessinger was a Baptist,[3] and argued in Newman that requiring that he serve African-American customers was a violation of his religious beliefs.[23]

    Bessinger believed that "God gave slaves to whites", and claimed that South Carolina had had a gentler "Biblical slavery".[3][24] In , The State columnist John Monk wrote a column about the restaurants noting that one tract distributed by the restaurant, John Weaver's Biblical View of Slavery, argued against the idea that slavery is inherently evil, since it appears in the Bible.[13][25]

    Bessinger also notably opposed flying flags at half-mast following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., saying King had only been in Memphis "to stir hatred, violence, and discord."[26]

    Politics

    Bessinger ran for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives in , only losing by a slim margin of around votes.

    A run for governor was far less successful, drawing only % of the vote in the Democratic primary.[3]

    Behind the scenes, in he was Chairman of the George Wallace presidential campaign.[27]

    In the s, he was also the chairman of the South Carolina Independent Party.[28][29]

    Autobiography

    In , Bessinger published his autobiography, Defending My Heritage.[30]

    Writer Chuck Thompson's take on the book was negative, saying that "Bessinger's gasbagging autobiography is one of the most weirdly entertaining summations of the delusional cultural southern mind-set ever printed.

    My favorite line about growing up Southern: 'White people are the best friends, historically, that blacks have ever had.'"[30]

    References

    1. ^ abcHitt, Jack (August 26, ). "A Confederacy of Sauces".

      The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July

    2. ^ abcOlld, Jason (February 24, ). "Maurice Bessinger, founder of Maurice's Piggie Park, dies at 83". WIS. Retrieved 2 July
    3. ^ abcdef"Barbecue eatery owner, segregationist Maurice Bessinger dies at 83".

      The State. February 24, Archived from the original on 1 July Retrieved 2 July

    4. ^Dabney, Eric; Coker, Mike (). Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History. HPN Books. pp.&#;84–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July
    5. ^Staples, Brent (September 16, ). "South Carolina: The Politics of Barbecue and the Battle of Piggie Park".

      The New York Times. Retrieved 3 July

    6. ^Johnson, Greg; Staten, Vince (). Real Barbecue: The Classic Barbecue Guide to the Best Joints Across the USA with Recipes, Porklore, and More!. Globe Pequot. pp.&#;65–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July
    7. ^A., Davis, PhB, Ardie; Paul, Kirk, CWC, PhB, BSAS, Chef ().

      America's Best BBQ: Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp.&#;76–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July : CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

    8. ^Garzon, Shelly (October 27, ). "BBQ spot Maurice's Piggie Park faces challenges after major fire".

      WLTX. Retrieved 27 October

    9. ^Edge, John T. ().

      Maurice bessinger bbq sauce Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction. October 12, But clearly, the man overshadowed his barbecue. Aspen Publishers Online.

      Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover's Companion to the South. Algonquin Books. pp.&#;–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July

    10. ^Fontana, Vincent R. (). Municipal Liab Law: Law and Practice.

      Maurice bessinger biography Popular pages. Bessinger ran for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives in , narrowly losing by a margin of around votes. Start a Wiki. Hidden categories: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata.

      Aspen Publishers Online. pp.&#;12–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July

    11. ^Sokol, Jason (). There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, –. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. pp.&#;–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July
    12. ^ ab"What do you mean, chicken supreme?

      (subscription required)". The Economist. January 11, p.&#; Archived from the original on 22 February Retrieved 3 July

    13. ^ abFirestone, David (September 29, ). "Sauce Is Boycotted, and Slavery Is the Issue". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 July Retrieved 3 July
    14. ^"Court tosses out barbecue sauce suit".

      St. Augustine Record. April 1, Archived from the original on 14 July Retrieved 3 July

    15. ^"2nd generation at Maurice's BBQ removes confederate flags, avoids politics". The State. October 25, Retrieved 18 July
    16. ^"Confederate flag can't be removed from lawn of ice cream shop, despite owner's wishes".

      Fox News. Retrieved

    17. ^"There's a new Confederate flag controversy in SC, and it involves ice cream". Retrieved
    18. ^JUNE 26, "Restaurateur in South Carolina Can’t Remove Confederate Flag Flying Over His Business". Clint Rainey.
    19. ^Collins, Lauren ().

      "America's Most Political Food". The New Yorker. ISSN&#;X. Retrieved

    20. ^Collins,
    21. ^Yee, Gregory (). "Confederate flag to stay flying in front of Orangeburg restaurant following zoning board ruling". Post and Courier. Retrieved
    22. ^"Orangeburg restaurant at center of Confederate flag controversy up for sale".

      The Times and Democrat. Retrieved

    23. ^"NEWMAN v.

      Maurice bessinger barbeque: Main article: Newman v. Bessinger also sold BBQ sauce under the Carolina Gold brand [1] whose recipe included mustard, brown sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar. Popular pages. Bessinger served in the Korean War, and when he came home from the war he founded his "Piggie Park" restaurant.

      PIGGIE PARK ENTERPRISES, INC". Leagle. Retrieved 2 July

    24. ^Weis, Lois; Fine, Michelle (). Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, Race, and Gender in United States Schools, Revised Edition. SUNY Press. pp.&#;–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July
    25. ^Hague, Euan; Beirich, Heidi; Sebesta, Edward H. ().

      Maurice bessinger biography wikipedia The Economist. Bessinger would lose the lawsuit and begin serving all customers. Andrews McMeel Publishing. Newman sued under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of , and won an injunction against the chain requiring them to stop refusing service to African-Americans.

      Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction. University of Texas Press. pp.&#;–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July

    26. ^"Score Mourning for Dr. King". The New York Times. April 9, p.&#; Retrieved 3 July
    27. ^Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. Congressional Quarterly, Inc.

      p.&#;

    28. ^"Bessinger Feels Government Rotten". Spartanburg Herald. October 12, p.&#;A5. Retrieved 3 July
    29. ^Moore, John Hammond ().

    30. Maurice bessinger barbeque
    31. Maurice bessinger biography wife
    32. Maurice bessinger wiki

      33. Columbia and Richland County: A South Carolina Community, –. Univ of South Carolina Press. pp.&#;–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July

    33. ^ abThompson, Chuck (). Better Off Without 'Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession.

      Maurice bessinger biography death University of Texas Press. SUNY Press. Add languages Add topic. Retrieved 3 July

      Simon and Schuster. pp.&#;77–. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 3 July