Christopher Smith is a Melanoid man in his late ’30s–who, like certain members of society in general, is an individual with special needs. His racial identity, combined with his personal challenges, have made him a victim in the hands of malicious white supremacists who abused him for years.

Mr. Smith worked for J&J Cafeteria for 23 years. The Conway restaurant is owned by a white man named Ernest J. Edwards. His brother, Bobby Paul, is the manager of the eatery. The siblings are under investigation for a series of reports which show Bobby Paul physically abusing Mr. Smith going back to 2010. According to reports, Smith was beaten with a belt, slapped, punched and choked. Charleston (S.C.)’s The Post and Courier is also reporting that Smith’s attorneys state that he was “hit with a frying pan, burned with grease-covered tongs, and beaten with butcher knives, belt buckles and fists “while being called the N-word repeatedly,” the attorneys said. The assaults took place in places like a walk-in freezer as he screamed for his life”

The same news source shows that Smith was forced to work 18-hour shifts from Monday-Saturday, and for 11-hour shifts on Sundays. He wasn’t allowed breaks, and the attorneys have calculated that Smith was paid less than $3,000 annually.

Smith stated that he worked at the restaurant since he was 12 years old, doing everything from washing dishes to cooking. Bobby Paul, the man charged with the abuse of Christopher Smith, is free on a $10,000 surety bond with the stipulations involving that he stay clear of his victim (Smith), and that he asks for permission before leaving the state of South Carolina for any reason.

Although many have attempted to refute the notion that slavery has been eradicated from the United States, it should be noted that some workplaces here in the States have served as smoke screens for imposing draconian practices on its employees. Perhaps we should look no further than J&J Cafeteria in Conway, South Carolina, which has apparently been operating like a plantation for years.

B. Clark