by Seth Newton

Created on: October 21, 2010

This story of redemption begins with a man who always, shall we say, went against the grain. He was a horse of a different color for sure. How he experienced a revelation was just as strange.

This man, for the story's sake let's call him Maurice, was a caricature.  He would have fit right in alongside Foghorn Leghorn with the other Looney Tunes. A chuckling cartoon who seemed happier and friendlier than Santa Claus. And what a business man he was. Old Maurice owned the largest and most successful BBQ chain in the deep south. He was able to claw his way to the very top with inspiration from KFC's business model. Actually, looking back on it, he kind of stole the Colonel's business model, right down to the ridiculous white outfit and everything. Maurice was a genius. A man way before his time. People couldn't get enough of his mouth-watering BBQ ribs or his signature yellow sauce with the hidden ingredient stashed away in the family recipe never to be revealed (umm, Heinz Yellow Mustard). But Maurice had a dark side, as we all soon found out.

Maurice wasn't the biggest fan of black people. Well, let's just come out and say it. He didn't like African-Americans at all, and he wasn't the slightest bit shy about showing it. He waved thirty confederate flags over each and every one his BBQ restaurants. In his stores, Maurice sold (right next to his tasty fried chicken and corn bread) bizarre propaganda advocating stories like Abraham Lincoln having a midget fetish and slavery becoming legal again. I guess Maurice figured slavery was a way he could cut his payroll way down. The BBQ master was able to sell his hate and baby back ribs alongside each other for a long time, but as you can imagine, certain individuals eventually decided it was time to rain on old Maurice's personal parade. 

What Maurice failed to realize was how many patrons of his were actually black. They made up a large part of his customer base, and eventually got tired of buying food fried in racism.  So the black community came together and ended up boycotting Maurice's successful BBQ chain, causing sales to nosedive. Not only did the old man seriously underestimate how negative of an impact his Confederate propaganda would have on his loyal fan base, Maurice also failed to realize most of the people preparing his food were of African-American descent. When they walked out on him, it pinned the ragged Maurice into a real bind. 

Maurice's business was failing. He was on

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