More than 40 Black former franchisees are suing the fast-food giant over discriminatory practices and policies that forced them out of the system.
In January 2025, McDonald’s announced it was scaling back its commitment to diversity initiatives, a troubling development that has led organizations like the People’s Union USA to call for a boycott of the fast-food chain in the last week of June. More recently, McDonald’s settled a lawsuit about racial stereotyping and the exclusion of Black media advertising opportunities, brought by Byron Allen, for an undisclosed amount.
Today, more than 40 Black former McDonald’s franchisees—who are collectively suing McDonald’s for unfair policies, unequal treatment, and illegal discrimination—joined the call for a boycott, and issued the following statement:
“The McDonald’s corporation’s recent abandonment of its diversity initiatives came as no surprise to us. As the lawsuit brought in 2020 by Vicki Guster-Hines and Domineca Neal revealed, and as our own experience confirms, racial injustice runs deep in the corporation, and taints the company’s carefully constructed image as a friend to the Black community.
“All of us were former McDonald’s franchisees, who literally and figuratively bought into the promise McDonald’s makes to its independent operators: that we would be able to become successful business owners, build generational wealth in our communities, and own a little piece of the American dream.
“But all of us saw that promise broken, and our dreams betrayed. And—though we come from all over the country—all of us are Black, and our experiences were depressingly similar: we were forced out of the McDonald’s system due to unfair policies, unequal treatment, and illegal discrimination.
“When many of us entered the McDonald’s franchise program, we discovered the corporation would relegate us to only buying stores with lower profits and higher costs.
“When many of us tried to buy stores with greater profits, we were denied, and had to watch those more lucrative stores go to White owners.
“While we struggled to make our stores profitable, we were consistently faced with unreasonable demands that White owners did not face, and we were consistently denied support and financial relief that White owners were routinely offered. Our problems were met with indifference, our proposed solutions were met with resistance, and our complaints were frequently met with overtly racist responses from McDonald’s executives.
“When, despite these obstacles, and through our entrepreneurial efforts, we actually succeeded in turning struggling stores around, we found ourselves forced to sell those stores to White operators for far less than they were worth.
“So abandoning their stated values is nothing new to McDonald’s: they long ago abandoned us, their Black franchisees. And, by doing so, the McDonald’s corporation also abandoned its alleged commitment to the Black communities it relies on for its customers and employees. As Black entrepreneurs we tried to build wealth in those communities, we tried to give back to those communities, but we all were forced out in favor of White owners.
“More than two years ago, over 40 of us, from more than a dozen states, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, in which we shared our stories, laid out our evidence of discrimination, and charged McDonald’s with multiple counts of discrimination and breach of contract. We look forward to our day in court, where a jury of our peers can hear how McDonald’s destroyed our livelihoods, deprived us of valuable opportunities, and ruined our dreams.
“In the meantime, we join the People’s Union USA and other organizations and community leaders in calling for a boycott of McDonald’s until they keep their promises, renew their commitment to the Black community, and finally do right by the Black owners and operators like us who deserved—but did not get—a fair shot at success.”
###
Plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit against McDonald’s—Manning et al v. McDonald’s USA, LLC et al (Case No. 1:23-cv-00210) are available to speak with the media about their lawsuit, the boycott, and their experiences as McDonald’s franchisees.
Contact Michael McDunnah, Communications Director at Loevy + Loevy, at 312.371.5871 or mcdunnah@loevy.com to arrange interviews with attorneys and plaintiffs in this case.
Videos of several of the plaintiffs discussing their experience with McDonald’s are also available on Loevy + Loevy’s YouTube site here, with additional videos being added throughout the week.
