406- A Side of Franchise

7/14/2020 by Roman Mars

Web player: https://podplayer.net/?id=109687545
Episode: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/media.blubrry.com/99percentinvisible/dovetail.prxu.org/96/3176107c-8569-4fc1-95a9-535b2f436ba1/406_A_Side_of_Franchise_pt01.mp3

There are many books about McDonald’s that criticize the company for its many sins, and author Marcia Chatelain has read all of them. But her book comes at this famous fast-food restaurant from a different angle and with a much wider lens. In Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, Chatelain offers a critique of racial capitalism and a long history of trying to address social problems with business-based solutions. A Side of Franchise Plus, we are featuring an excerpt from the series Race Traitor from The Heart.

It’s interesting to learn about the relationship between Black America and McDonald’s. It’s a complicated relationship motivated by corporate profits, one that sometimes was beneficial to African Americans and other times not so much so.