UPI.com - Maurice Bessinger, the South Carolina restaurateur who lost a landmark civil rights suit seeking to deny blacks service, has died, his family said. He was 83.

Bessinger, who owned a chain of barbecue restaurants in South Carolina that led to a successful retail barbecue sauce business, was infamous for his pro-slavery position, arguing slavery was a good thing for southern blacks.

He also advocated for South Carolina to again secede from the union and proudly flew Confederate flags above his eateries.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/02/24/Slavery-supporter-restaurant-owner-dies/UPI-97251393275134/#ixzz2uLZIirls