From the ACLU, this is at Liberty. I'm Molly Kaplan, your host for this episode.

The Golden Arches, the Happy Meal. These are phrases that immediately mean something to most Americans.

In fact, with more than 36,000 restaurants in 100 countries,

McDonald's may well be one of the most recognizable brands in the world.

But today, we're focusing on a much lesser-known side of the fast food giant,

looking at McDonald's role in Black America.

Joining us to talk about how the struggle for civil rights and the expansion of the fast food

industry have shaped each other is Dr. Marsha Chatlin, a professor of history and African

American studies at Georgetown University, and the author of Franchise, The Golden

Arches in Black America.

Welcome to the podcast, Marcia.

Thank you so much, Molly.

I wanted to start with why McDonald's. You're a professor of history and African American

Studies. What was the draw of McDonald's, both personally and as an historian?

Well, growing up in the 1980s, McDonald's was everywhere that I was. And for me, as a historian, I really like to

help people retrain their focus on everyday experiences and everyday institutions. And

one of the reasons why I was so drawn to McDonald's is because, while there's been a larger

conversation over the past two decades about McDonald's is because while there's been a larger conversation over the past two

decades about McDonald's role in nutrition, health disparities among communities of color,

as well as labor issues, very few people have taken a step back to think about the history

of how we got here. There's nothing natural about people eating fast food. The process of

developing a market of particularly African American fast food buyers has a history and has a story.

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