Acclaim
White Tavern, Amsterdam NY, Photo by John Collier, 1941. Library of Congress
I. Reviews
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Underscore[s] the deeply rooted presence of anti-Blackness within the industry
23 Must-Read Books that Will Transform How You Think about Food and the World
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Through explorations of popular culture and political conflicts, White Burgers provides social and historical context for the current racialized health crisis.
JOTWELL Equality: Fast Food For Thought
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In an important narrative that is rich with both Black historical figures and jarring, behind-the-scenes facts about the nation’s biggest fast-food chains, Kwate recounts a century of racism
Summer 2023 Food and Farming Book Guide
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explores how racism has driven the fast-food industry
New DC Books That are Worth Checking Out, The Washingtonian Magazine
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WHITE BURGERS BLACK CASH DELIVERS A CHUNK OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Review syndicated in more than 20 newspapers
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There is a rage that permeates White Burgers, Black Cash: Fast Food from Black Exclusion to Exploitation. This is a book that is filled with statistics and anecdotes and close examinations of how US institutions and corporate America have used and abused African Americans, and, just under the surface of Kwate’s academic presentation, there is a great anger.
Patrick T. Reardon
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Naa Oyo A. Kwate's brilliant new book, White Burgers, Black Cash, is an extraordinary achievement...a colossal rebuttal to the tens of billions in advertising dollars designed to promote the fast food industry as backing inclusive American values.
Randy Shaw
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recent books of interest to african american scholars
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
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Bookmark: Nonfiction to watch for in 2023. Top history, memoir and other nonfiction for the first quarter of the year.
Laurie Hertzel, The Star Tribune, Minneapolis
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White Burgers, Black Cash comes crashing through everything you thought you knew about fast food to land as the definitive history of how this industry has become so entrenched in Black communities. Built on a staggering body of evidence, this riveting and accessible exploration of fast food’s troubled racial transformation is necessary reading for anyone concerned about inequitable food environments. A masterpiece.
—Bryant Terry, James Beard and NAACP Image Award–winning editor of Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora
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White Burgers, Black Cash is a must read for anyone interested in the politics of food, racial identity, and belonging. Naa Oyo A. Kwate weaves a narrative that dissects Black exploitation, corporations, and socioeconomic divides in communities to help us better understand the timeline of American fast food restaurants, from exclusionary whiteness to the present. You’ll see fast food well beyond its place as a basic quintessential American meal.
— Christina Greer, author of Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream
II. Awards
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james beard media award nominee, 2024
White Burgers, Black Cash is a nominee in the category “Reference, History and Scholarship” for the 2024 James Beard Award. The winner will be announced in June 2024.
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Honor Book, Black Caucus American Library Association, 2024
White Burgers, Black Cash was named an Honor Book in Nonfiction.
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FINALIST, HAGLEY PRIZE, 2023
White Burgers, Black Cash was named a finalist for the Business History Conference Hagley Prize of 2023.
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Finalist, Foreword INDIES 2023 Book of the Year Award
White Burgers, Black Cash is a finalist for an INDIES award in history. The winner will be announced in June 2024.
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WINNER, BEST BOOK IN URBAN AFFAIRS, 2024
White Burgers, Black Cash was awarded the Best Book in the Field of Urban Affairs Award, by the Urban Affairs Association.
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Winner, Association for Humanist Sociology, 2023
White Burgers, Black Cash was awarded the 2023 Betty and Alfred McClung Lee Book Award, by the Association for Humanist Sociology.
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Shortlisted for the 2023 MAAH Stone Book Award
White Burgers, Black Cash was shortlisted for the 2023 MAAH Stone Book Award. Fourteen books were selected from 90 eligible submissions based on their scholarship and accessibility—exceptional works that spark dialogue within and across social and racial groups and that reflect the core values of the Museum of African American History Boston | Nantucket.