Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America
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- Create Date：2021-06-14 06:52:24
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Marcia Chatelain
- ISBN：1631498703
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Summary
Just as The Color of Law provided a vital understanding of redlining and racial segregation， Marcia Chatelain’s Franchise investigates the complex interrelationship between black communities and America’s largest， most popular fast food chain。 Taking us from the first McDonald’s drive-in in San Bernardino to the franchise on Florissant Avenue in Ferguson， Missouri， in the summer of 2014， Chatelain shows how fast food is a source of both power—economic and political—and despair for African Americans。 As she contends， fast food is， more than ever before， a key battlefield in the fight for racial justice。
Reviews
Colin
，
A fantastic history of the connections between McDonalds， capitalism， racism， and civil rights in Black America。 As a white man who didn't grow up eating fast food， I was wholly ignorant to nearly every element in this book， and it was a valuable history lesson。 The interweaving of fast food， and McDonalds particularly， is well laid out by Chatelain。 After a brief history of the origins of fast food， we are taken from the early civil rights movement and the efforts of Dr。 Martin Luther King Jr。 A fantastic history of the connections between McDonalds， capitalism， racism， and civil rights in Black America。 As a white man who didn't grow up eating fast food， I was wholly ignorant to nearly every element in this book， and it was a valuable history lesson。 The interweaving of fast food， and McDonalds particularly， is well laid out by Chatelain。 After a brief history of the origins of fast food， we are taken from the early civil rights movement and the efforts of Dr。 Martin Luther King Jr。 and the first early attempts of black Americans to become business owners。 Stymied by intrigant racist businesses， they nevertheless persevered， and slowly built a space for themselves; however， even up to the era of publishing， there are still instances of efforts to keep blacks out of white neighborhood businesses and in "their own spaces。" While Chatelain shows that this is not inherently a troublesome issue， as black franchise owners built up black communities both alone and with the help of McDonalds， the barriers facing black business owners are shown to not have subsided fully since the days of sit ins and Black Panther breakfast programs。Add a touch of business drama - embezzlement， extortion， and one potential murder - and this book is a whopper （pun intended） of the interconnection of civil rights， capitalism， and curly fries。 。。。more
Grace Keith
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Again， I read this for class and really enjoyed it。 Chatelain provides an interesting narrative and I learned a lot about the black business movement。
Isabelle Leventhal
，
I really enjoyed this book。 It's well structured， packed full with information and expansive on the topic without veering from the thesis。 Discussing Black capitalism and capitalism as a false solution for social ills is incredibly clever and feels relevant。 The cyclical nature of the riot commissions in 68， the empowerment zones of the 90s， and relating it to Ferguson （and now， really） hits upon this idea that we as a society keep turning to capitalism as a solution when it's really a false pro I really enjoyed this book。 It's well structured， packed full with information and expansive on the topic without veering from the thesis。 Discussing Black capitalism and capitalism as a false solution for social ills is incredibly clever and feels relevant。 The cyclical nature of the riot commissions in 68， the empowerment zones of the 90s， and relating it to Ferguson （and now， really） hits upon this idea that we as a society keep turning to capitalism as a solution when it's really a false prophet。 I would recommend。 。。。more
R Seykora
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Very informative about McDonald’s， diet， racial disparities， and franchises。
Emily
，
This challenged any nostalgia I have ever felt about Happy Meal toys。 A powerful exploration of the ways in which systemic racism has shaped fast food culture and the complicated effects of franchising on families， communities， and individuals。
Brendan
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I read this for my History of Consumption class， and I found it to be a very interesting dimension of Black culture in America。 It was very enlightening to read about the nuances of the fast food industry in the Black community。
Brittany
，
This one took me a while to finish。 The introduction and conclusion are strong， but I'm not sure the evidence in the chapters clearly leads to the conclusions presented in the final chapters。 The connections between fast food in general， McDonald's in particular， franchising， Black capitalism， and urban development are interesting。 I like how Chatelain brought these together in ways I hadn't considered previously。 There are examples drawn from multiple cities， including Cleveland， Atlanta， Portl This one took me a while to finish。 The introduction and conclusion are strong， but I'm not sure the evidence in the chapters clearly leads to the conclusions presented in the final chapters。 The connections between fast food in general， McDonald's in particular， franchising， Black capitalism， and urban development are interesting。 I like how Chatelain brought these together in ways I hadn't considered previously。 There are examples drawn from multiple cities， including Cleveland， Atlanta， Portland， and Philadelphia， to demonstrate how the McDonald's franchising played out。 These chapters get long at times， in part because the paragraphs within them are long， which might be why it took longer than expected to finish this。Full disclosure: I have insider knowledge about some of what's in the book。 Though Chatelain says she interviewed NBMOA members， the NBMOA and its efforts were surprising absent from this book。 The same is true of WON （Women's Operators Network） which basically goes unmentioned despite having multiple Black women as regional and/or national leaders。 Which brings me to my larger point。Chatelain focuses almost entirely on Black men who franchise McDonald's locations and their stories as owner/operators。 Black women， including those who co-owed and co-operated those locations， are erased from the narrative。 That disappointed me greatly since I know enough to know that Black women have been important in the relationship between McDonald's and Black America。 This isn't a bad book。 But， most people could read the first and last chapters to get the main arguments and skip the rest。 。。。more
Ellie
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A fascinating examination of the relationship of McDonald's and black America。Do franchises owned by black people significantly improve the lives of people in predominantly black communities？ Is that black capitalism an answer to poverty or is capitalism the problem and black ownership of businesses only a bandaid on a problem that has systemic and structural roots and require those kinds of solutions？Chatelain describes in detail the beginnings of black franchises--the benefits and the （conside A fascinating examination of the relationship of McDonald's and black America。Do franchises owned by black people significantly improve the lives of people in predominantly black communities？ Is that black capitalism an answer to poverty or is capitalism the problem and black ownership of businesses only a bandaid on a problem that has systemic and structural roots and require those kinds of solutions？Chatelain describes in detail the beginnings of black franchises--the benefits and the （considerable） challenges in buying and running one。 The constant presence and power of racism every step of the way。I had difficulty following the details of the business set-ups， law suits， and maneuverings but whatI got pointed to ways in which McDonald's ingratiated itself into communities， providing benefits but not as substantial as they convinced the public they were。 However， in a society that offered little support to predominantly black and impoverished communities， a restaurant that gave out scholarships and offered space for community events stood out。A definitely worthwhile read。 。。。more
Steph
，
Very interesting and unique topic that combines fast food and the fight for equality。 I was drawn to this book because economic opportunities are such an important path to equality， and I don’t often see text that intertwines the two。 I’m being picky， but I didn’t love the writing style as it seemed a little choppy and the way sources were introduced bothered me slightly for some reason。 Still interesting and worthwhile considering the uniqueness of the content。
Shannon
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Neighborhood center or scourge？ And who gets to run these franchises， anyhow？ History of McDonald's place in the urban landscape over the decades， from novelty restaurant to civil rights target to health （and other） disparities。 Neighborhood center or scourge？ And who gets to run these franchises， anyhow？ History of McDonald's place in the urban landscape over the decades， from novelty restaurant to civil rights target to health （and other） disparities。 。。。more
Kent
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Important and balanced information。Michelle did a great job reading it， with just a few mispronunciationa。 Cadre， excoriated， maybe one or more also。 She has a pleasant voice and her pace was easy to follow。
Miguel
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This explores more than just the topic of Black ownership of fast food franchises in the US as it also looks at the role that fast food has played out in the Black community from both an economic， social and cultural perspective。 Several different areas of the US are explored， and one in particular caught my attention as the neighborhood in Albina where I have a home in Portland is talked about at some length， and I learned more of the history of my neighborhood in this book than I have in any o This explores more than just the topic of Black ownership of fast food franchises in the US as it also looks at the role that fast food has played out in the Black community from both an economic， social and cultural perspective。 Several different areas of the US are explored， and one in particular caught my attention as the neighborhood in Albina where I have a home in Portland is talked about at some length， and I learned more of the history of my neighborhood in this book than I have in any other that I’ve come across， one which explains some of the historical complexities of integration， gentrification and African American history in general。 。。。more
Tom Fuchs
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Racism and captialism， braided together and running through the entirety of American history。
Terri
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I can't recommend this book enough。 My spouse got tired of me talking about it constantly。 （Lots of "Did you know。。。？" conversations at bedtime。） I posted about it on Facebook。 I was excited to look up the references in the back。I emailed the author and SHE WROTE ME BACK。 If you are part of a book club， this would absolutely be a great book selection。 I can't recommend this book enough。 My spouse got tired of me talking about it constantly。 （Lots of "Did you know。。。？" conversations at bedtime。） I posted about it on Facebook。 I was excited to look up the references in the back。I emailed the author and SHE WROTE ME BACK。 If you are part of a book club， this would absolutely be a great book selection。 。。。more
Colin Thomas
，
An interesting exploration of the intersection of food， capitalism， and race。 Well written and deeply researched。 Though I’m not sure I walked away with a cohesive thesis。
Renee Ryberg
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This was a struggle to get through， and I think the author loses the forest for the trees。 But， it’s on a very interesting topic and presents a compelling argument that fast food has replaced the role of the government （in some cases assisted by the government to do so） in Black communities。
John
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The author is often reaching to find a narrative that fits a conclusion she seems to have had going into the writing of the book。
Sharon Falduto
，
A well researched dive into the politics of black franchise owners， the way McDonalds interacts with black communities， etc。
Jen McGovern
，
Informative and interesting。 I really liked how this book looked at the role of McDonald’s （and fast food franchises more broadly） as part of the civil rights movement。 The author gives historical info on questions like: In what ways did McDonald’s advance the movement？ What types of limits exist when a corporation is part of that struggle？ Of course this is academic history book so some parts were a little dense and I got lost in the details。
Ken Lindholm
，
Franchise caught my attention because it is the only book of which I am aware that focuses on the relationship between one specific business McDonalds and the Civil Rights movement。 The author Marcia Chatelaine is an very good writer who is able to provide substantial detail wrapped in an entertaining， narrative style。 In addition， I found many significant developments take place in my hometown Chicago area （where both the McDonalds headquarters resides and where the author grew up）。 Even the fi Franchise caught my attention because it is the only book of which I am aware that focuses on the relationship between one specific business McDonalds and the Civil Rights movement。 The author Marcia Chatelaine is an very good writer who is able to provide substantial detail wrapped in an entertaining， narrative style。 In addition， I found many significant developments take place in my hometown Chicago area （where both the McDonalds headquarters resides and where the author grew up）。 Even the first Black-owned McDonalds franchise was in the Chicago neighborhood just south of my college。In Franchise， Chatelaine details the blending together the effort by McDonalds to develop Black franchisees - not as an effort of goodwill， but to preserve its sales in urban centers - and the overall civil rights movement。 I enjoyed the story of Herman Petty， the first Black franchisee， and how he （and his peers） had to address challenges unique to urban locations and within McDonalds。Chatelaine provides a good history of the challenges that Black franchisees had to overcome， and issues they had to face of which the largely white McDonalds corporate structure was unaware。 She outlines the favorable steps McDonalds took to better focus on its Black customers， but also provides a detailed review of the adverse legal conflicts the company had with both Black communities and franchisees。 I think the book is strongest when it focuses on the history of McDonalds and the Black community。 For me， the weakest parts were some of the generalized conclusions in the book’s closing。 The author appears to have concerns regarding a perceived intersection of capitalism and racism， but I didn’t make the same connection。There is probably a limited audience for this book， but it’s a history that I’m glad to have read and seen addressed。 。。。more
Caroline
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-black America + McDonalds history
kevin moore
，
This is so little about McD Franchisees。 Addresses McD corporate and interactions with various orgs demanding equity。 Wanders away from McD to other fast food concepts， adding little to the overall themes。While one of main themes is the fight for more minority Franchisees certain very basic questions are neither framed or answered。 Did black Franchisees make money？ Was it any different from white owners in white communities？ More about social protest and boycott than any appreciation for the act This is so little about McD Franchisees。 Addresses McD corporate and interactions with various orgs demanding equity。 Wanders away from McD to other fast food concepts， adding little to the overall themes。While one of main themes is the fight for more minority Franchisees certain very basic questions are neither framed or answered。 Did black Franchisees make money？ Was it any different from white owners in white communities？ More about social protest and boycott than any appreciation for the actual business。 If that's what the author intended， good for her。 Not what I anticipated。 。。。more
Kat
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This is a fascinating indictment of relying on business / capitalism in place of social programs。 I found some of the writing a little dense （but not uncommonly so） but overall a relevant and resonant look at the last hundred years of the connection between McDonald’s （and other fast food empires） and Black communities。 the last two chapters， which also looked at the labor and nutrition lenses of fast food， were my favorites！
Rebekah
，
This was really fascinating。 It's an interesting history of McDonalds （and at times fast food） in the United States， looking at how McDonalds is situated within the larger historical context of race in the United States。 This was really fascinating。 It's an interesting history of McDonalds （and at times fast food） in the United States， looking at how McDonalds is situated within the larger historical context of race in the United States。 。。。more
Lisa
，
When you realize that Dr。 Chatelain had no access to the McDonald's archives， this deeply researched book is incredible in its detail。 Growing up in California， I had no idea of the fights over Black ownership of McDonalds restaurants or that women were not allowed to work there。The examples of how the Black community demanded civil rights and silver rights， the right to own McDonalds as well was that these franchises should provide more than minimum wage jobs and support the community， etc。 was When you realize that Dr。 Chatelain had no access to the McDonald's archives， this deeply researched book is incredible in its detail。 Growing up in California， I had no idea of the fights over Black ownership of McDonalds restaurants or that women were not allowed to work there。The examples of how the Black community demanded civil rights and silver rights， the right to own McDonalds as well was that these franchises should provide more than minimum wage jobs and support the community， etc。 was really interesting。This book is the early decades of McDonalds so some of the references -- Calvin， Double Dutch， etc。 - ads will be unfamiliar to many readers。 I went on line to watch some of the ads before my time; I recommend others do so as they make the public relations innovations that appeal to the Black community more insightful。 Plus， the 80's/90's clothes are always colorful and surprising。Her Twitter account has links to some of her interviews on the book which are really interesting and include the response she's had from McDonalds。 She also wrote an interesting story on Burgerim for the Atlantic: https://www。theatlantic。com/technolog。。。 。。。more
Julie Cardinal
，
With the attempted coup going on and everything， I’m having a hard time focusing on non-fiction， still， it is one of my favorite genres and this book did not disappoint。 Chatelain explores the complex relationship between the Black community and McDonald’s。 Chock full of really interesting history and perfect analysis。
Matt
，
This very rich delve into the history of fast food viewed through the lens of the black community frequently reads more like a university press publication than something for popular consumption。 From a content perspective， that's an asset。But I imagine limiting the scope of the book was a difficult thing to do。 We start with the ascent of fast food franchises in segregated America and quickly transition into the civil rights era – boycotts， lawsuits， and decades of pressure from black communiti This very rich delve into the history of fast food viewed through the lens of the black community frequently reads more like a university press publication than something for popular consumption。 From a content perspective， that's an asset。But I imagine limiting the scope of the book was a difficult thing to do。 We start with the ascent of fast food franchises in segregated America and quickly transition into the civil rights era – boycotts， lawsuits， and decades of pressure from black communities。 And truly， we get into issues that are more ongoing than historical。 Chatelain doesn't just write about McDonald's – there's plenty of other history in here。 She's really writing a story of racism and capitalism and， to a lesser degree， public health in America over the past century。 A lot of it reads as 'this is how we got here'， but because so many of these battles about racism and inequality are so familiar， it feels less like history and more like current affairs。 The subtitle is "The Golden Arches in Black America" but it could easily have been "The Failed Promise of Black Capitalism in Post-Civil Rights America" instead。 Fast food wasn't going to save black communities， and after 50 years we have enough perspective to know that。But as she points out， "the meeting of burgers and black capitalism worked"。 As our food chain more and more became fast food chains， fast food "became black" and with it has come a host of other problems。 When Chatelain writes， "Fast food franchises sought powerful holding companies and partnerships to open their restaurants in multiple locations and territories to capture the black dollars that were still up for grabs， as supermarkets and large retailers still ignored pockets of working-class and poor black America，" she's writing about something that certainly hasn't gone away， and arguably is still happening。 Ultimately， the author is writing a bigger book:In the case of black consumers in the United States， these motivations are also shaped by racism and its hold over nearly every aspect of life – housing， education， health wealth， and socialization。Fast food in black communities isn't a simple thing， and the thing that it's about isn't just fast food。 And the story both stays the same and continues to evolve。 I think Chatelain is pretty young。 If we're both around in 30 years， I will probably enjoy reading the sequel。 。。。more
Ashutosh Dalvi
，
A very thoroughly researched and detailed account of how fast food franchises became so prevalent in predominantly Black communities。 Chatelain shows how a mix of factors （the Civil Rights movement， economic policy， lack of financing） came together to cause this phenomenon。 She also looks at the resulting impacts - both intended and unintended - on the Black community。 I learned a lot by reading this book， but gave it 3 stars because I felt like it was repetitive and sorely in need of a good edi A very thoroughly researched and detailed account of how fast food franchises became so prevalent in predominantly Black communities。 Chatelain shows how a mix of factors （the Civil Rights movement， economic policy， lack of financing） came together to cause this phenomenon。 She also looks at the resulting impacts - both intended and unintended - on the Black community。 I learned a lot by reading this book， but gave it 3 stars because I felt like it was repetitive and sorely in need of a good editor。 As other reviewers have said， Chatelain goes off on tangents that leave the reader wondering why they are relevant and crams so much information into paragraphs that extend on for pages。 It felt like she wanted to "show her work" and decided to include all of her research in the book。 The book could have been a long journal piece and still conveyed all of her key themes and messages。 。。。more
AJ
，
Franchise is a history of Black franchising in the United States。 It is an interesting look at how Black capitalism came to be seen as a panacea for "solving racism" by providing jobs and opportunities to inner cities。 I think the book provides very necessary scholarship into understanding why inner cities are packed full of fast food restaurants even in the absence of grocery stores or other retail stores。My favorite part of the book was the afterward where the author starts scratching the surf Franchise is a history of Black franchising in the United States。 It is an interesting look at how Black capitalism came to be seen as a panacea for "solving racism" by providing jobs and opportunities to inner cities。 I think the book provides very necessary scholarship into understanding why inner cities are packed full of fast food restaurants even in the absence of grocery stores or other retail stores。My favorite part of the book was the afterward where the author starts scratching the surface a bit more into how capitalism， even if it centers Black people， is not going to solve issues of racism。 Capitalism is the reason why Black folks continue to be disempowered with minimum-wage jobs while taxes continue to get cut and social services go unfunded。 This is an important discussion， and something that needs to be changed。 。。。more
Kirk Shimano
，