franchise the golden arches in black america

Well, 1968 is such a critical moment in the story, because I think we often forget about the impact of economic white flight in the inner city. And those forces all came together to bring McDonald's to black America. And even more importantly, the civil rights establishment started to pivot towards black capitalism as its priority. The federal government was underwriting minority business initiatives that supported the growth of franchises.

And while he initially concentrated on expansion in the suburbs after the uprisings that followed Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, the business community saw an opportunity, because there were deep demands for more commerce. Ray Kroc was not a racial progressive, but what he was was a person who was very much committed to the expansion of McDonald's. The Two-Way McDonald's CEO Promises 'Modern, Progressive Burger Company'

'And so this book really explores the relationship between black America and McDonald's, to help us understand where other parts of our society has failed, McDonald's has unfortunately had to pick up the slack.' So how did that happen? And is fast food the hero or the villain in black America? In her new book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, history professor Marcia Chatelain traces what she calls the hidden history of the relationships between the struggle for civil rights and the expansion of the fast food industry.Ĭhatelain says that as a child, she constantly noticed that museums and cultural sites in her home town of Chicago had signs indicating they'd been sponsored by the local black McDonald's operators association. And according to the Centers for Disease Control, African Americans are more likely to eat fast food than any other racial group in America - which is why fast food is also seen as the culprit for the high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease among black people. For some, owning a franchise has been a path to wealth, but fast food restaurants are hyper-concentrated in some of the country's lowest-income and most segregated areas. Let's talk about fast food - and I bet you have a jingle in your head right now, because according to a new book, on any given day in America, an estimated one third of all American adults is eating something at a fast food restaurant.īut fast food doesn't mean the same thing to everyone everywhere. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Franchise Subtitle The Golden Arches in Black America Author Marcia Chatelain

Franchise the golden arches in black america