1st Black owner of McDonald's franchise honored with street renaming

[get these nets]

Herman Petty, McDonald’s First Black Franchise Owner, Honored With His Own Street In Woodlawn​

May 24, 2022

Members of Herman Petty's family, members of the Black Mcdonald's Operators Association and others celebrate the unveiling of Herman Petty Way on the corner of 65th Street and Stony Island Ave., on Monday, May 23, 2022.



WOODLAWN — Five decades after Herman Petty became the first Black person to open a McDonald’s, a stretch of the South Side street where the restaurant still stands has an honorary name in tribute of the entrepreneur.


City officials dubbed a section of Marquette Road between Stony Island Avenue and Dorchester Avenue “Herman Petty Way” in a ceremony Monday with the Black McDonald’s Operators Association. Members of Petty’s family, other Black McDonald’s owners and local officials joined the event outside the restaurant Petty opened in 1968 at 6560 S. Stony Island Ave.
Petty died in 2009.

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One of Petty’s granddaughters, Latrice Orr, said her grandfather’s legacy is continuing to inspire her and others to follow in his footsteps.
“He inspired others to believe in themselves, to know that nothing is unattainable if you put in the work and put your mind to it,” Orr said. “My grandfather worked hard for his family and instilled to all of us to be independent, always chase your dreams. Herman Petty wanted his grandchildren, children and even great grandchildren to achieve great things in life and wants them to never give up and always remember dreams [aren’t] impossible.”
Besides opening his restaurant, Petty’s career would also lead the way to the creation of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association.

MR. HERMAN PETTY

Joe Erlinger, the president of McDonald’s USA, said Petty would have a room named for him at the future Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park through a partnership between the Obama Foundation and McDonald’s.
“This will obviously preserve his ongoing legacy and we also believe that it will inspire future entrepreneurs,” Erlinger said. “So we are incredibly excited to partner with the Obama Foundation as they work to inspire, empower, and connect the next generation of leaders to evolve and support this great city of Chicago that we all call home.”
Yolanda Travis bought Petty’s McDonald’s location in 2007, remodeling the space to feature photos and signage of Petty and other notable Black McDonald’s owner-operators. She said the street name was her idea, which local leaders including Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) supported.
“It was my idea because you have few or no Black museums or monuments or [any landmarks on the South Side of Chicago,” Travis said. “Make no mistake — Herman Petty was a true history maker and risk taker. When he purchased the store, it meant that African Americans could invest in and strengthen our communities, and we’ve been doing that ever since.”
Travis also has a hand in other efforts to honor Petty. She said she also would like to see the building grounds at 65th and Stony Island become an established Chicago landmark.
Travis said she hopes Petty’s legacy and the street naming inspires others to support other firsts in the Black community.
“We should rally around the first and embrace them, encourage them and say, ‘Okay, I’m first I’m bringing you with me. Come on,’ Travis said. “You reach back and you bring somebody with you. So I think that is the most important thing, that we continue to reach and bring others along into the business.”

McDonald’s owner-operator Yolanda Travis (bottom, second from left) with members of Herman Petty’s family and members of the Black McDonald’s Operators Association at the Herman Petty Way street sign unveiling on Monday, May 23, 2022.

 

[Rhapscallion Démone]

Pettys 2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun.

 

[get these nets]

@ab.aspectus

Spoiler

 

[Hater Eraser]

 

[@OffHalsted]

Disturbs my soul to see how Chiago went from a shining light for Black Folks to Death

 

[invalid]

She said the street name was her idea, which local leaders including Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) supported.

The narrative has always been that Hairston’s father, Lester Shelton Hairston, was the first black owner/operator of a McDonalds franchise.

Hairston’s mother was an educator with the Chicago Public Schools for 43 years. During her career, Reva Hairston also served as principal at Mary C. Terrell Elementary School for 21 years. Her late father, Lester Hairston, was the owner of the once popular Avenue Lounge and the city’s first African-American owner/operator of a McDonald’s restaurant.

Alderman Leslie A. Hairston

Alderman Leslie A. Hairston Biography

www.chicago.gov

Maybe he and Petty were co-owners?

I went to the NBMOA website and it says Petty indeed had the first franchise. I wonder why the competing narratives.

This sharing of ideas, problems, and concerns eventually led to the formation of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association in 1972.

Founding members who attended the first organized convention of the NBMOA in May, 1972 presided over by Herman Petty who had the foresight to see the need for such an organization were:

• Sherman Claypool, Milwaukee
• Wayne Embry, Milwaukee
• Andrew Davis, Chicago
• John Perry, Chicago
• Mallory Jones, St. Louis
• Noel White, Chicago
• Lester Hairston, Chicago
• Cloris Dale, Kansas City
• Andrew Murrell, Kansas City
• Walter Pitchford, Chicago
• Benjamin Davis, St. Louis
• Edward I. Wimp, Chicago

Also struck at how the first McDonald’s franchise owners in a Chicago were OKOP. Hairston and Wimp certainly were. I wasn’t particularly close to the Hairstons but I grew up with the Wimps.

Ed Wimp’s mother was a famous jazz singer who sang with Duke Ellington. She went by the stage name Kay Davis.

However, she was born Katherine McDonald.

So Ed’s franchise was a real life...

Spoiler

 

[get these nets]

Ed Wimp’s mother was a famous jazz singer who sang with Duke Ellington. She went by the stage name Kay Davis.

However, she was born Katherine McDonald.

So Ed’s franchise was a real life...

Spoiler

Great line.
You know, they never did show Cleo McDowell's widow in the film.

I think the narrative about the first owner was because of media coverage. Either Ebony or The Chicago Defender ran a story about Hairston's location FIRST, and that became the accepted story.

If John H. Johnson didn't say you existed, then you didn't. Even in your own city. hehehe

Not surprised that OKOP families owned some of the first franchises in Chi, and perhaps in the other cities. Their members were the ones with the capital and education to buy franchises. It was national mainstream corporation so it was "respectable". Think there would have been some pushback among some circles, but the men who did it were probably mavericks to an extent and took the chance.


McD's ties to Chi run deep, as their CEO a few years back was Don Thompson.
Black woman from Chicago won a Pulitzer last year for a book about McDonald's relationship with the Black community.

 

[TheAnointedOne]

'National Black McDonald’s Owners Association' ?? Never knew such a thing existed.