Franchise

The Golden Arches in Black America

By: Marcia Chatelain

Narrated by: Machelle Williams

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

From civil rights to Ferguson, Franchise reveals the untold history of how fast food became one of the greatest generators of black wealth in America.

Often blamed for the rising rates of obesity and diabetes among black Americans, fast food restaurants like McDonald's have long symbolized capitalism's villainous effects on our nation's most vulnerable communities. But how did fast food restaurants so thoroughly saturate black neighborhoods in the first place? In Franchise, acclaimed historian Marcia Chatelain uncovers a surprising history of cooperation among fast food companies, black capitalists, and civil rights leaders, who - in the troubled years after King's assassination - believed they found an economic answer to the problem of racial inequality. With the discourse of social welfare all but evaporated, federal programs under presidents Johnson and Nixon promoted a new vision for racial justice: that the franchising of fast food restaurants, by black citizens in their own neighborhoods, could finally improve the quality of black life. Synthesizing years of research, Franchise tells a troubling success story of an industry that blossomed the very moment a freedom movement began to whither.

©2020 Marcia Chatelain (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Microcosms are interesting

I loved the use of franchises to examine how Capitalism has (and hasn't because it can't) helped Black Americans. I wish the performer of Warmth of Other Suns had done this book though, it can feel lectureish despite the colorful anecdotes.

Outstanding and innovative approach to understanding race, capitalism, and politics

I’m blown away by this book. I will assign this in a college course I plan to offer on 20C African American history!

compelling listening a

learned a ton about fast food's relationship to the Black community in the US. So good. Helps give context to a lot of snippers of BIPOC history that I didn't know enough about.

Civil rights relation to economic development

This book mostly tells the broad story of civil rights movement (from reconstruction to present day). It threads in stories and assumptions about how these events impacted policies within McDonald's franchises. the narrator voice is extremely soothing. They are pretty good about noting when they share non factual or unverifiable elements.

Outstanding

Like with most social problems, a look beneath the surface reveals historical complexities beyond what most of us can imagine. If you care about social justice and vibrant communities, this book is a must read.

Illuminating

I will echo what the other positive reviewers have already said. Sadly I learned just how common a theme of police brutality-neighborhood rioting-public “outrage”- Washington hand wringing followed by zero action-repeat ad nauseam has been for over a century. I find criticisms of the audio book reader useless but in this case I will warn that she sometimes lacks the requisite voice inflection associated with a paragraph or section break allowing the listener the subtle content digestion they serve. So insert hard returns in your mind as needed.

A must read for business historians

This book contains a lot of good information and historical knowledge especially for those of us who were not there. One caveat for a person like myself who works in the franchise business, is that this book does not seem to be written/read in The Voice of the franchisee, franchisor or their employees but from The view of a social commentarian.

Window into Black Capitalism

Chatelain uses McDonald's as a way to encapsulate and interrogate capitalism's false promises. Focusing mostly on African American franchise ownership, she also addresses issues relating to marketing, community outreach, health, and food justice. A contemporary and far more accessible take on Manning Marable's How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America (which she paraphrases at one point), Chatelain brings statistics to life by applying them to clear and specific examples. The book makes a number of important arguments and is a great entry point for discussions about class, identity, entrepreneurship, and the function of government.

There are a few drawbacks. Most notably, the book is an awkward hybrid of scholarly and popular history. Chatelain makes a number of broad claims under the assumption that they'll go unchallenged by a reader, reflecting the bubble of academia. At other moments she's over-explaining historical events as if the intended reader is completely uninitiated in everything ranging from Martin Luther King to the Black Panthers. The first chapter is clumsily written and conceived, rife with problematic generalizations about race and class. The subsequent chapters are much stronger and more nuanced.

The saving grace for this audiobook is a remarkably strong performance by its narrator, Machelle Williams. Her delivery is unaffected and casual yet confident, making a book heavy with statistics and dates seem like having a friendly conversation.

Engaging History

An engaging and informative look at how and why McDonalds and fast food franchises in general proliferated in Black neighborhoods, and the negative consequences. Dr. Chatelain uses McDonalds as a lens to examine civil rights; Black capitalism; and the role of federal policies in contributing to exploitive capitalism and inequality. She creates a rich narrative, populated with individual stories, that is entertaining and insightful. You’ll learn about the creation of the concept of the franchise, Ray Kroc’s role in creating a fast food empire, discrimination against Black franchisees, and the dangers of creating a system in which places like McDonalds fill the void of missing government programs. A wonderfully crafted work, and also well narrated.

Much more than just about hamburgers

Prof Chatelain has contributed greatly to the record of black history and our struggle against racism in the latter part of the 20th century and beyond. An important read for all, but especially the youth.