September 1, 2025 • 9 mins
McDonald’s was a cultural staple for me—growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, hanging out after games, and later during college nights in Tampa. But I discovered something that changed my perspective forever: my great aunt lived her entire life without ever stepping foot into a McDonald’s.
The reason? She remembered when McDonald’s was segregated and refused to serve Black customers. For her, that rejection was unforgettable, and she made a quiet, lifelong stand of resistance: “If my money wasn’t good then, it’s not good now.”
In this episode, I share how her story impacted me as a member of Black Gen X—the first generation to live fully in an integrated world, yet still directly connected to those who endured segregation. This is more than a family story; it’s a reminder of the sacrifices and scars that shaped our path forward, and why we must keep telling these stories for future generations.
👉 Tune in as I reflect on what it means to be a gatekeeper of history, memory, and cultural lessons.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
The reason? She remembered when McDonald’s was segregated and refused to serve Black customers. For her, that rejection was unforgettable, and she made a quiet, lifelong stand of resistance: “If my money wasn’t good then, it’s not good now.”
In this episode, I share how her story impacted me as a member of Black Gen X—the first generation to live fully in an integrated world, yet still directly connected to those who endured segregation. This is more than a family story; it’s a reminder of the sacrifices and scars that shaped our path forward, and why we must keep telling these stories for future generations.
👉 Tune in as I reflect on what it means to be a gatekeeper of history, memory, and cultural lessons.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And in the good evening everyone in the red Tony
reeves and you read Tony reds Byron following the news
and shape or form, no sortage of things to talk
about what this is reality would simply have to step
(00:20):
and read me read, But the great headed kids started.
What would you do if I told you that my
great aunt lived her a whole life in a town
with the McDonald's, but never ate there once. If you
remember Black generation X and any generation after that, McDonald's
(00:42):
has probably been a staple of your society in your community.
For me, growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, it was
the cornerstone. It literally was the place that shaped a
good part of my adolescent and especially my teenage years.
So you can imagine how mind blowed I was to
find out that my great aunt, who had been in
Pine Bluff for all of these years and never once
(01:02):
patronized the place. But there was a reason growing up
in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, McDonald's was considered a staple. It
was literally located on Main Street. It was about a
couple of blocks away from the local high school that
I ended up going to. It was one of the
few in the country that had an arch as opposed
to archis. It was a mainstay, and by the time
I got to high school, it was a significant part
(01:25):
of my cultural experience. After every football game, all the
kids would roll down to McDonald's and cruise in the
parking lot. It was the go to spot for lunch
during lunchtime when we were in school. For us, McDonald's
wasn't just merely some fast food restaurant. It was a
signatural staple of our community, and more importantly, it was
(01:45):
representative of a part of our life coming up. But
as we got older, McDonald's took on a grade of meeting.
We're talking about an entity that literally was a sponsor
of a lot of predominantly black events, whether it be HPCU,
whether it be Blacks concerts, whether it be for kids.
McDonald's from Black Generation X purposes going forward has been
a consistent supporter of initiatives focusing on people of color.
(02:09):
But even to my surprise, as I got older it
took on. It still took on a cultural significance because
even after I left Pine Bluff and went to college
in Tampa, McDonald's was still a cultural staple for me.
When I pledged the University of South Florida. There was
only one McDonald's in the Tampay area that was twenty
four hours and guess what after every party, that's where
we went. And I'm just not talking about just a
(02:31):
couple of us. It would be on Moss. We would
drive and cruise the parking lot, we would go inside
and order food, we would shooting to breathe. It was
the only place in the area that was over twenty
four hours a day, and they welcomed us. And again,
this became a part of my experience for me, whether
it was my McDonald's experience in Pine Bluff as a
high schooler or whether it was McDonald's in college. McDonald's
(02:53):
to me was a safe, secure, reliable place. So imagine
what went through my mind when I found out that
my great aunt and I found this out in my twenties,
had never gone to McDonald's. Who doesn't go to McDonald's.
Come on, man, this McDonald's. For me, this was a
shocker because in my mind, I'm thinking there has to
be a legitimate reason. Maybe something was food bad, you
(03:15):
got a bad act muphing, Maybe the service was bad,
maybe the sodas were flat. Come on, this is McDonald's.
Why wouldn't you go to a McDonald's. Then I realized
it was a much deeper reason. My great aunt's daughter,
my aunt Joy cousin aunt don't don't ask. So once
shared the store with me about this, and I had
to ask, why would my aunt Bernice go? And so
(03:36):
she had to explain to me that my great aunt,
who had grown up in time life as well, she
had been there for well basically her entire life, and
while she was there, she grew up in a time
where McDonald's refused service to people of color. So for
her it hit deeply. And it was that she necessarily
wanted to go, or was it wasn't even the non
(03:57):
Joy was telling me that she had Bernie had a
burdeuse ago. It's just that there was a time that
on Bernice could remember that this establishment specifically deny service
to black people, and she took that to heart. So
when finally McDonald's was a position where it decided it
would now provide service to people of color, my aunt
(04:18):
Bernice's attitude was, if my money wasn't good then when
you were refusing service to me, it's not good now
that you've decided you were going to give me service.
So when my great aunt passed an eighty four years
of age, I had to really take stock of what
she said. Standing on purpose and standing on business, she
(04:38):
made the decision that she was not going to patronize
a company that on one breath she could remember when
they refused treatment to people like her, and then on
the mixed breath would finally say okay, now it's okay.
For her, that was a stent that she was willing
to take, and she did it. And when I heard that,
it hit me really hard. I heard that story, I
(05:01):
had to take this and keep it in a particular
context and remind myself that my experiences was different from hers.
She experienced the pain of what it was like to
have businesses that would refuse her treatment one day or
refuse her service one day, and then finally, because the
government and the law changed, they had to or from
a business standpoint, they made the determination they had to.
(05:23):
In her mind, that was a lie that she was
not willing to cross. And I had to remember that
my experiences was much different. I didn't have that type
of experience. McDonald's never refused me service. I never lived
during a time where that was my reality. As a
matter of fact, not only did mc donald's not refuse
my service, they were an active participant in the black
(05:44):
community and an active contributor to black organizations and activities
through my lens, but through her lens, it was very
different because she could remember a time when they were not.
The other thing that I had to remind myself, and
this is one of the things that I would probably
share with my younger viewers and younger generation. Be careful
(06:04):
when you are quick to tell people that they should
get over something and it happened in the past and
we've moved on, they have it and they're still here.
We still have a generation of people who had to
endure that pain so that you could live a life
where you didn't have to endure that pain at all.
And if you disregard what they went through, or blow
(06:24):
it off or to minimize it, you completely overlooked the
fact of two things. One they went through that so
that you couldn't ensure that you didn't have to. And
two they are life life lessons learned that they can
share with us to make sure future generations don't ever
have to go through that. And what I also realized
is that a member of Generation X, and this was
a story that was passed to me that I didn't
(06:46):
know existed. I would not have known that my aunt
refusing refusing to get food from this establishment was as
a result of her deep seated trauma that was exposed
to her as a result of going through Jim Crow
and businesses for refusing service. Had it not been her
daughter sharing with me the story, my aunt never said
a word like mon Bernice never mentioned this was her reason.
(07:09):
She just chose to do so. That was her personal reason.
She wasn't telling everybody out in the community don't go
to McDonald's. This was just something because of the pain
she experienced. But if it wasn't for my aunt Joy
telling me about what my aunt Bernice experienced, I would
have never known that this was something that she carried
in silent. It's important to remember that regardless of where
(07:31):
you are in your life, different things come at different
points and it may have a different cultural impact for me,
my generation and generations going forward. McDonald's has been a staple.
It has been a mainstay. It has been a safe
place for resilience, for reliance and support in the black
community in ways that still resonates even today, But we
cannot overlook the fact that there was a time when
(07:52):
this was not the case. My great aunt is a
Li was a living example of what it means when
someone goes through the pain of being told that you
are not worthy of getting treatment, you are not worthy
of service. But the biggest thing that's important is that
we cannot ignore those stories. We cannot just merely dismiss
it and say that because we are going through the pain,
(08:15):
therefore we shouldn't bestowed the history of the pain others
endure because we're holding onto the pass. I learned so
much more just from that one little story, and it's
my responsibility is shared going forward, and the future generations
know never forget the pain they went through, because it
possibly be the pain you experience in the future.
And in the good evening everyone in the red Tony
reeves and you read Tony reds Byron following the news
and shape or form, no sortage of things to talk
about what this is reality would simply have to step
(00:20):
and read me read, But the great headed kids started.
What would you do if I told you that my
great aunt lived her a whole life in a town
with the McDonald's, but never ate there once. If you
remember Black generation X and any generation after that, McDonald's
(00:42):
has probably been a staple of your society in your community.
For me, growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, it was
the cornerstone. It literally was the place that shaped a
good part of my adolescent and especially my teenage years.
So you can imagine how mind blowed I was to
find out that my great aunt, who had been in
Pine Bluff for all of these years and never once
(01:02):
patronized the place. But there was a reason growing up
in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, McDonald's was considered a staple. It
was literally located on Main Street. It was about a
couple of blocks away from the local high school that
I ended up going to. It was one of the
few in the country that had an arch as opposed
to archis. It was a mainstay, and by the time
I got to high school, it was a significant part
(01:25):
of my cultural experience. After every football game, all the
kids would roll down to McDonald's and cruise in the
parking lot. It was the go to spot for lunch
during lunchtime when we were in school. For us, McDonald's
wasn't just merely some fast food restaurant. It was a
signatural staple of our community, and more importantly, it was
(01:45):
representative of a part of our life coming up. But
as we got older, McDonald's took on a grade of meeting.
We're talking about an entity that literally was a sponsor
of a lot of predominantly black events, whether it be HPCU,
whether it be Blacks concerts, whether it be for kids.
McDonald's from Black Generation X purposes going forward has been
a consistent supporter of initiatives focusing on people of color.
(02:09):
But even to my surprise, as I got older it
took on. It still took on a cultural significance because
even after I left Pine Bluff and went to college
in Tampa, McDonald's was still a cultural staple for me.
When I pledged the University of South Florida. There was
only one McDonald's in the Tampay area that was twenty
four hours and guess what after every party, that's where
we went. And I'm just not talking about just a
(02:31):
couple of us. It would be on Moss. We would
drive and cruise the parking lot, we would go inside
and order food, we would shooting to breathe. It was
the only place in the area that was over twenty
four hours a day, and they welcomed us. And again,
this became a part of my experience for me, whether
it was my McDonald's experience in Pine Bluff as a
high schooler or whether it was McDonald's in college. McDonald's
(02:53):
to me was a safe, secure, reliable place. So imagine
what went through my mind when I found out that
my great aunt and I found this out in my twenties,
had never gone to McDonald's. Who doesn't go to McDonald's.
Come on, man, this McDonald's. For me, this was a
shocker because in my mind, I'm thinking there has to
be a legitimate reason. Maybe something was food bad, you
(03:15):
got a bad act muphing, Maybe the service was bad,
maybe the sodas were flat. Come on, this is McDonald's.
Why wouldn't you go to a McDonald's. Then I realized
it was a much deeper reason. My great aunt's daughter,
my aunt Joy cousin aunt don't don't ask. So once
shared the store with me about this, and I had
to ask, why would my aunt Bernice go? And so
(03:36):
she had to explain to me that my great aunt,
who had grown up in time life as well, she
had been there for well basically her entire life, and
while she was there, she grew up in a time
where McDonald's refused service to people of color. So for
her it hit deeply. And it was that she necessarily
wanted to go, or was it wasn't even the non
(03:57):
Joy was telling me that she had Bernie had a
burdeuse ago. It's just that there was a time that
on Bernice could remember that this establishment specifically deny service
to black people, and she took that to heart. So
when finally McDonald's was a position where it decided it
would now provide service to people of color, my aunt
(04:18):
Bernice's attitude was, if my money wasn't good then when
you were refusing service to me, it's not good now
that you've decided you were going to give me service.
So when my great aunt passed an eighty four years
of age, I had to really take stock of what
she said. Standing on purpose and standing on business, she
(04:38):
made the decision that she was not going to patronize
a company that on one breath she could remember when
they refused treatment to people like her, and then on
the mixed breath would finally say okay, now it's okay.
For her, that was a stent that she was willing
to take, and she did it. And when I heard that,
it hit me really hard. I heard that story, I
(05:01):
had to take this and keep it in a particular
context and remind myself that my experiences was different from hers.
She experienced the pain of what it was like to
have businesses that would refuse her treatment one day or
refuse her service one day, and then finally, because the
government and the law changed, they had to or from
a business standpoint, they made the determination they had to.
(05:23):
In her mind, that was a lie that she was
not willing to cross. And I had to remember that
my experiences was much different. I didn't have that type
of experience. McDonald's never refused me service. I never lived
during a time where that was my reality. As a
matter of fact, not only did mc donald's not refuse
my service, they were an active participant in the black
(05:44):
community and an active contributor to black organizations and activities
through my lens, but through her lens, it was very
different because she could remember a time when they were not.
The other thing that I had to remind myself, and
this is one of the things that I would probably
share with my younger viewers and younger generation. Be careful
(06:04):
when you are quick to tell people that they should
get over something and it happened in the past and
we've moved on, they have it and they're still here.
We still have a generation of people who had to
endure that pain so that you could live a life
where you didn't have to endure that pain at all.
And if you disregard what they went through, or blow
(06:24):
it off or to minimize it, you completely overlooked the
fact of two things. One they went through that so
that you couldn't ensure that you didn't have to. And
two they are life life lessons learned that they can
share with us to make sure future generations don't ever
have to go through that. And what I also realized
is that a member of Generation X, and this was
a story that was passed to me that I didn't
(06:46):
know existed. I would not have known that my aunt
refusing refusing to get food from this establishment was as
a result of her deep seated trauma that was exposed
to her as a result of going through Jim Crow
and businesses for refusing service. Had it not been her
daughter sharing with me the story, my aunt never said
a word like mon Bernice never mentioned this was her reason.
(07:09):
She just chose to do so. That was her personal reason.
She wasn't telling everybody out in the community don't go
to McDonald's. This was just something because of the pain
she experienced. But if it wasn't for my aunt Joy
telling me about what my aunt Bernice experienced, I would
have never known that this was something that she carried
in silent. It's important to remember that regardless of where
(07:31):
you are in your life, different things come at different
points and it may have a different cultural impact for me,
my generation and generations going forward. McDonald's has been a staple.
It has been a mainstay. It has been a safe
place for resilience, for reliance and support in the black
community in ways that still resonates even today, But we
cannot overlook the fact that there was a time when
(07:52):
this was not the case. My great aunt is a
Li was a living example of what it means when
someone goes through the pain of being told that you
are not worthy of getting treatment, you are not worthy
of service. But the biggest thing that's important is that
we cannot ignore those stories. We cannot just merely dismiss
it and say that because we are going through the pain,
(08:15):
therefore we shouldn't bestowed the history of the pain others
endure because we're holding onto the pass. I learned so
much more just from that one little story, and it's
my responsibility is shared going forward, and the future generations
know never forget the pain they went through, because it
possibly be the pain you experience in the future.
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