Golden Arches in Black America

Published: Feb. 25, 2020, 1:01 a.m.

b'Often blamed for the rising rates of obesity and diabetes among black Americans, fast food restaurants like McDonald\\u2019s have long symbolised capitalism\\u2019s villainous effects on our nation\\u2019s most vulnerable communities. But how did fast food restaurants so thoroughly saturate black neighbourhoods in the first place? Historian Marcia Chatelain whose new book is Franchise, The Golden Arches in Black America, traces the history of the relationships between the struggle for civil rights and the expansion of the fast food industry.'