Marcia Chatelain’s insightful analysis of the history of McDonald’s and the Black Community reveals a decades long struggle to generate Black wealth. Surprisingly, McDonald’s Ray Kroc saw a profitable opportunity to sell franchises to Black investors in the 1960s (it would take years before McDonald’s competitors to see that potential, too).
Numerous barriers constantly blocked Black businesses from succeeding. A few years after Mahalia Jackson’s Glori-Fried Chicken was introduced in 1968, but within a few years the business folded. Muhammed Ali’s ChampBurger also flopped. James Brown launched the Gold Platter restaurant franchise in 1969, hoping his fans would believe franchising was his brand-new bag. But these businesses could not compete with McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, or Wendy’s.
In 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan released The Negro Family, The Case of National Action which claimed Black poverty came from family disorganization and a crisis of manhood. Moynihan’s report asserted that “Black women emasculated their male partners, that Black families invested too much in their daughters at the expense of their sons, and that in order to restore Black America, Black men should either enlist in the military or receive preference over Black women for jobs.” (p. 173)
This cockeyed picture of Black America influenced the fast-food industry to target poor communities and provide basically dead-end jobs to urban youth. Over the years, junk food contributed to the epidemic of diabetes and a myriad of health problems in Black neighborhoods.
I learned a lot about the strategies fast-food organizations employed to capture profits from distressed urban ghettoes. I also learned that McDonald’s “invented” the Filet-O-Fish to market to Catholics during Lent! Marcia Chatelain’s research brings plenty of troubling decisions to light. Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America was the WINNER of the 2021 PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY. Are you a fan of McDonald’s and fast-food? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Introduction: From Sit-In to Drive-Thru — 1
- Chapter One: Fast Food Civil Rights — 22
- Chapter Two: Burgers in the Age of Black Capitalism — 58
- Chapter Three: The Burger Boycott and the Ballot Box — 87
- Chapter Four: Bending the Golden Arches — 121
- Chapter Five: Black America, Brought to You by . . . — 158
- Chapter Six: A Fair Share of the Pie — 197
- Chapter Seven: The Miracle of the Golden Arches — 223
- Conclusion: Bigger than a Hamburger — 259
- Acknowledgements — 267
- Notes — 277
- Index — 313
Indeed, Moynihan a fool, and just the sort we were expected to take seriously in the day. I was not aware that McD was trying to gather African-Am managers and franchises along with repeat customers, but that doesn’t surprise me. Singers might not’ve been the best mascots for fast-food, even given Kenny Rogers making some money.
Sounds interesting.
No…as a diabetic vegetarian, not a whole lot to excite me at McD’s…thought they were OK when a kid (particularly when I had to skip lunch in high school, and the Island’s bus stop near my house let riders off at the McD’s and the Dairy Queen at the bottom of the Kailua hill that led up to my family’s house, so would eat the occasional 80c hamburger or grab a DQ shake.
Todd, when McDonalds first opened, a hamburger was a quarter!
Todd, FRANCHISE is very revealing.
I tried McD several times in Europe and the USA but always was disappointed, my partner of the last 19 years felt the same on our holodays in the USA.
We much prefer Wendys (my favourite is the chili as an extra when I’m really hungry), sharing one burger and a salad with chicken. My partner is very sensitive to the odor of burnt fat so she would not go into a five guys or similar place which smells of oil and fat …
Funny stories I still remember:
Went to one of the first McDs in Germany in the early 70s in Munich and when he got his plate the guy in front of me asked for a knife and fork …
I also had to try the McD in Bejing on my business trip to China in the early 1990s and with my long hair and beard became the center of attention for a group of young Chinese who practised their English asking me where I was from and what I was doing here …
Wendy is not active in Germany beecause they usee fresh unfrozen meat and German laws are very stricht – you have to use minced eat on the day it was produced, can not use it later …
Wolf, WENDYS commercials here stress the “fresh unfrozen” aspects of their meat.
Unless you count Popeyes fried chicken as fast food (which I emphatically do not, lol), I rarely eat any fast food. Back in the day, I remember liking Wendy’s bacon-cheeseburgers, but that’s been decades.
Deb, Fast Food popularity has eroded over time. Part of the “problem” is people have become more health conscious. Big Macs are not a healthy food.
I prefer raising Cane’s due to their sauce and dog as mascot
Black entrepreneurs still face serious barriers, and I imagine it’s gotten light-years worse in the past year. These privileged white guys who moan about being oppressed are either fools or hucksters.
Fred, our Government is now being run by incompetent fools and goofy hucksters. Minorities are going to struggle under the Trump Administration.
I never liked McDonald’s but I have fond, early memories of my parents taking us to one back when they were carryout only and clad in white and red tile. They had benches on the side of the building overlooking the french fry pits.
Thankfully we never went there much, even after they added a dining room, since I thought their burgers were disgusting and would only eat the fries. My family preferred a local burger joint that served scrambled hamburgers which was a blue collar thing back in the day. I never cared for any fast food although I’ll admit Culver’s, a family owned chain around the Great Lakes, is pretty good and a well-run business that pays their full-time employees $20 an hour.
I went into a McDonald’s a few years ago just for a cup of coffee. The counter was unstaffed and all of the employees were out of sight making food. Someone shouted out that I had to place my order through the giant, monolith-like touch screens across from the counter. I walked out and will definitely never be back. Apparently most of their business now is drive-through and they are pushing customers to place orders in advance using their app. What the hell…
Byron, the Drive-Through at McDonalds is their profit center. I’ve seen people go through the Drive-Through…and eat their order parked in the McDonalds Parking Lot. They preferred to eat in their cars rather than eat in a McDonalds.
Byron, I discovered Culver’s in WI thanks to Beth Fedyn. We don’t have any in San Diego but when I go to Padres spring training in Phoenix area, there’s a couple of Culver’s, one near the stadium. The last time they had something very smart: a freezer filled with previous days flavors that were apparently not sold out.
McDonald’s was late to the game in my area when I was younger. Instead, we had Kell\y’s — 10-cent hamburgers and 5-cent hot dogs, and they offered (God help us) clam fritters (which I actually liked). Never cared much for McDonald’s and their prices today seem to have gone through the roof. I much preferred Burger King, but their quality seems to have gone downhill. Didn’t mind Wendy’s but (again) the price and quality nowadays is keeping me away. For a semi-fast food franchise, I visit Chipotle about once every month or so despite their reputation for food-borne illness. Lately I have ben going to my local gas station convenience store, Tom Thumb (rebranded as a Cumberland Farms a few months ago) for a couple of chicken tenders and an extra-large cup of coffee. They are friendly,, know me there, call me “sir,” rush to open the door for me when I come in, and immediately get my chicken tenders without my asking — can’t do better than that. (Although I have to fight off an old prejudice against Cumberland Farms: some thirty-five years ago or so, the company carried out a scheme where they wrongfully charged low-level employees (usually teenagers) with stealing money and/or merchandise, and coercing them into signing confessions on threat of arrest, notification of their families, other employees, or the media — all with the aim of forcing them to work cheaper; the sonsofbitches behind that scheme are long gone, but it still rankles.)
I’m starting a rumor that when Diddy gets out of prison, he will open up his own franchise…all of the food will be cooked in baby oil.
Jerry, McDonalds actually was charging $18.00 for a Big Mac in California franchises…until both the customers and the media rebelled. There’s no doubt that Artificial Intelligence will be implemented in fast food restaurants to replace now expensive ($20 an hour) employees.
I just remembered that on our last holidays in the USA (2010 in the West, SFO to Vegas and back, 2011 from my partner’s nephew’s family in Nashville to the Kennedy Space Center and back)) we typically paid 14$ for two – around 10€. That was cheaper than Germany!
Really fond memories and we’re so happy that us two oldsters did those 4 trips (Florida and NYC/Niagara were the others) while we were still able to travel – even though we were in our mid 60s already.
And we were lucky that Obama was the president …
Wolf, I only live about 15 miles from Niagara Falls and the sight of all that water still moves me!
George, you’re right.
But when we were there in March 2009 we saw the biggest icicle you could imagine – straight from the window of our hotel room.
Unbelievable!
Wolf, there are plenty of giant icicles around the Falls right now, too!
One of my cousin’s husband’s family were early McDonald’s investors. They are very well off, but are white. I had a friend who worked there in high school in the mid 60s. He liked it and was treated well.
Maggie, I have a friend who worked at McDonalds during his High School years and bought McDonalds stock early on. He’s a millionaire today.
I prefer raising Cane’s due to their sauce and dog as mascot
I’d never heard of McDonald’s until I’d come back from Nam and moved to California! That was in the 19-cent hamburger days. I like most fast foods but don’t eat them that often! When I did go to California in 1969, my roommate’s wife–who also lived there–worked a half-a-block away at a Der Wienerschnitzel in San Jose! They were also 19-cents. I would buy 2 or 3 for lunch almost every day! There aren’t any within a half hour from my house nowadays, and they’re nowhere near 19-cents anymore!
Bob, most “fast food” is overpriced and not healthy. I avoid it.
A fan of McDonald’s? The last time I had a burger there was, truly, never. I did used to like the sausage biscuit with egg occasionally, back when Jackie was working. Otherwise, nothing other than a chocolate shake, and it’s been years.
Jeff, I used to take Patrick and Katie to McDonalds because they had a Play Area for kids to climb and jump. The kids wanted the McDonalds Happy Meal, but only for the toy. I ended up eating the food…reluctantly.
You’re right about the drive-thru. I know my sister uses it at various fast food places, but the food is not healthy, especially when eaten regularly.
Jeff, there’s a lot of grease in Fast Food.