Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America

Chatelain examines McDonald’s expansion into Black communities, revealing how fast food intersected with civil rights and economic policy. The book complicates narratives of empowerment and exploitation. Chatelain writes with clarity and nuance, balancing corporate strategy with lived experience. She shows how businesses positioned themselves as allies while reinforcing inequality. The research is meticulous, yet the storytelling remains accessible. The book reframes familiar symbols as sites of contested power. It connects consumer culture to political change. Readers gain insight into capitalism’s local and national dimensions. A surprising and illuminating history.