“Maurice Bessinger”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Bessinger was born in Orangeburg County, South Carolina on July 14, 1930 and served in the Army on the front lines of the Korean War, returning to the US in 1952.^[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 1953.^[1]^[2] By 1968, he had four drive-ins,^[3] and by 2002 the chain had grown to nine restaurants.^[5] The 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]

Bessinger also sold BBQ sauce under the Carolina Gold brand^[1] whose recipe included mustard, brown sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar.^[8] By 1999, 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 1968.^[3]

Segregation lawsuit

In 1964, 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 1964, and won an injunction against the chain requiring them to stop refusing service to African-Americans. 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.^[9]

Confederate flags

In 2000, 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,^[10] also calling the flags "a real Christian symbol... fighting tyranny and terror and suppressive government."^[17]

A number of grocery chains responded by dropping his Carolina Gold sauce from their shelves.^[11] 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, 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 2007.^[13]

After Bessinger's children took over the operation, they took down these flags, the last of them in 2013.^[14]

Orangeburg Location

In 2014, Bessinger sold part of the Edisto restaurant property, approximately 130 square feet (including a flagpole and Confederate flag), to the organization Sons of Confederate Veterans Rivers Bridge Camp 842^[15]^[16] for $5.^[17]

The remainder of the property, approximately 18,000 square feet, was sold in 2015 to Tommy Daras, who began operating a new restaurant called Edisto River Creamery & Kitchen.^[18]

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.”"^[19] 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 2017, the Orangeburg zoning board rejected the legal argument that the flagpole did not comply with the site’s business zoning requirements^[20].

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.^[22]

Bessinger believed that "God gave slaves to whites", and claimed that South Carolina had had a gentler "Biblical slavery".^[3]^[23] In 2000, 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.^[11]^[24]

Bessinger also notably opposed flying flags at half-mast following the death of Martin Luther King, saying King had only been in Memphis "to stir hatred, violence, and discord."^[25]

Politics

Bessinger ran for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1964, narrowly losing by a margin of around 100 votes. A 1974 run for governor was far less successful, drawing only 2.5% of the vote in the Democratic primary.^[3]

Behind the scenes, in 1964 he was Chairman of the George Wallace presidential campaign.^[26]

In the 1970s, he was also the chairman of the South Carolina Independent Party.^[27]^[28]

Autobiography

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.'"^[29] Eric Dabney and Mike Coker's "Historic South Carolina" was more gentle, calling it "the story of a man of humble origins who worked hard all his life to build a multi-million dollar business, and then was willing to risk it all to stand for his principles."^[4]

References

1. ^¹²{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/26/magazine/a-confederacy-of-sauces.html|quote=By 1999, Maurice had created the largest commercial barbecue operation in the country.| title=A Confederacy of Sauces|last=Hitt|first=Jack|date=August 26, 2001|work=The New York Times|accessdate=2 July 2014}}
2. ^¹²{{cite news|url=http://www.wistv.com/story/24804313/maurice-bessinger-dies-at-83|title=Maurice Bessinger, founder of Maurice's Piggie Park, dies at 83|last=Olld|first=Jason|date=February 24, 2014|work=WIS|accessdate=2 July 2014}}
3. ^¹²³⁴⁵{{cite news|url=http://www.thestate.com/2014/02/24/3288326/barbecue-eatery-owner-segregationist.html|title=Barbecue eatery owner, segregationist Maurice Bessinger dies at 83|date=February 24, 2014|work=The State|accessdate=2 July 2014}}
4. ^¹{{cite book|last1=Dabney|first1=Eric|last2=Coker|first2=Mike|title=Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-_6PlxEruYC&pg=PA84|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2006-01-01|publisher=HPN Books|isbn=9781893619524|pages=84–}}
5. ^{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/16/opinion/editorial-observer-south-carolina-politics-barbecue-battle-piggie-park.html|title=South Carolina: The Politics of Barbecue and the Battle of Piggie Park|last=Staples|first=Brent|date=September 16, 2002|work=The New York Times|accessdate=3 July 2014}}
6. ^{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Greg|last2=Staten|first2=Vince|title=Real Barbecue: The Classic Barbecue Guide to the Best Joints Across the USA --- with Recipes, Porklore, and More!|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nO7Bb4Mdh7wC&pg=PA65|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2007-07-01|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=9780762751952|pages=65–}}
7. ^{{cite book|last1=A.|first1=Davis, PhB, Ardie|last2=Paul|first2=Kirk, CWC, PhB, BSAS, Chef|title=America's Best BBQ: 100 Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3eDMGlagyUC&pg=PA76|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2009-05-01|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=9780740790225|pages=76–}}
8. ^{{cite book|last=Edge|first=John T.|title=Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover's Companion to the South|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JjKbAbcTfAYC&pg=PA230|accessdate=3 July 2014|year=2007|publisher=Algonquin Books|isbn=9781565125476|pages=230–}}
9. ^{{cite book|last=Fontana|first=Vincent R.|title=Municipal Liab Law: Law and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QljCmWb5FhYC&pg=SA12-PA11|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2006-11-13|publisher=Aspen Publishers Online|isbn=9780735565203|pages=12–}}
10. ^{{cite book|last=Sokol|first=Jason|title=There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945–1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoMEb-QV2_8C&pg=PA236|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2008-12-10|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=9780307491817|pages=236–}}
11. ^¹{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/29/us/sauce-is-boycotted-and-slavery-is-the-issue.html|title=Sauce Is Boycotted, and Slavery Is the Issue|last=Firestone|first=David|date=September 29, 2000|work=The New York Times|accessdate=3 July 2014}}
12. ^¹{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/472919|title=What do you mean, chicken supreme? (subscription required)|date=January 11, 2001|work=The Economist|page=30|accessdate=3 July 2014}}
13. ^{{cite news|url=http://staugustine.com/stories/040107/nation_4506073.shtml|title=Court tosses out barbecue sauce suit|date=April 1, 2007|work=St. Augustine Record|accessdate=3 July 2014}}
14. ^{{cite news|url=http://www.thestate.com/news/business/article13827440.html|title=2nd generation at Maurice's BBQ removes confederate flags, avoids politics|date=October 25, 2013|work=The State|accessdate=18 July 2016}}
15. ^June 26, 2017. "Confederate flag can't be removed from lawn of ice cream shop, despite owner's wishes". https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/confederate-flag-cant-be-removed-from-lawn-of-ice-cream-shop-despite-owners-wishes
16. ^"There’s a new Confederate flag controversy in SC, and it involves ice cream". Mark Price. The Charlotte Observer. July 04, 2017. https://www.thestate.com/news/local/article159618304.html
17. ^JUNE 26, 2017. "Restaurateur in South Carolina Can’t Remove Confederate Flag Flying Over His Business". Clint Rainey. http://www.grubstreet.com/2017/06/south-carolina-restaurant-stuck-with-confederate-flag.html
18. ^April 24, 2017. "America’s Most Political Food". Lauren Collins. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/americas-most-political-food
19. ^Collins, 2017.
20. ^"Confederate flag to stay flying in front of Orangeburg restaurant following zoning board ruling". Gregory Yee. Post and Courier. Aug 4, 2017. https://www.postandcourier.com/news/confederate-flag-to-stay-flying-in-front-of-orangeburg-restaurant/article_83fc18c0-78ae-11e7-8ed0-57f1b44ebcb3.html
21. ^"Orangeburg restaurant at center of Confederate flag controversy up for sale". Gene Zaleski. Times & Democrat. Jan 26, 2019. https://thetandd.com/news/local/orangeburg-restaurant-at-center-of-confederate-flag-controversy-up-for/article_b1c19949-5571-5ec9-8cca-2de0aaca65b1.html
22. ^{{cite web|url=http://leagle.com/decision/19661197256FSupp941_11032.xml/NEWMAN%20v.%20PIGGIE%20PARK%20ENTERPRISES,%20INC.|title=NEWMAN v. PIGGIE PARK ENTERPRISES, INC.|publisher=Leagle|accessdate=2 July 2014}}
23. ^{{cite book|last1=Weis|first1=Lois|last2=Fine|first2=Michelle|authorlink2=Michelle Fine|title=Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, Race, and Gender in United States Schools, Revised Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_uOOASHrHUC&pg=PA223|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2005-03-10|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791464625|pages=223–}}
24. ^{{cite book|last1=Hague|first1=Euan|last2=Beirich|first2=Heidi|last3=Sebesta|first3=Edward H.|title=Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LfWdaR9wHEEC&pg=PA290|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2009-09-15|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=9780292779211|pages=290–}}
25. ^{{cite news|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/04/09/issue.html|title=Score Mourning for Dr. King|date=April 9, 1968|work=The New York Times|page=32|accessdate=3 July 2014}}
26. ^{{cite book|title=Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uls5AQAAIAAJ|date=1964|publisher=Congressional Quarterly, Inc|page=1498}}
27. ^{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19731012&id=oHAsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4MsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7317,2139244|title=Bessinger Feels Government Rotten|date=October 12, 1973|work=Spartanburg Herald|page=A5|accessdate=3 July 2014}}
28. ^{{cite book|last=Moore|first=John Hammond|title=Columbia and Richland County: A South Carolina Community, 1740–1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GnH6cXpukwC&pg=PA426|accessdate=3 July 2014|year=1993|publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press|isbn=9780872498273|pages=426–}}
29. ^¹{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Chuck|title=Better Off Without 'Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aa8AAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA77|accessdate=3 July 2014|date=2013-07-16|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451616668|pages=77–}}

Early life