Before the Civil Rights Act, African Americans were legally shunned from restaurants and rest stops, hotels and hospitals in the South for nearly a century after the end of legal slavery. Even after the law banned racial discrimination in these places, black diners were hesitant to enter spaces that might lead to, at best, bad service or, at worst, violence.
But while they were still vigilant, black consumers were making modest gains in disposable income, which enabled them to finally enjoy the delights of the restaurant world, as their white counterparts long had.
This combination of legal changes and potential new customers provided an opening for fast-food companies. In response to federal programs that offered financial assistance for blacks to enter fast food-franchising and the flight of white business owners from black neighborhoods to the suburbs, fast-food brands discovered that by changing their tone and offering a welcoming experience, they could take advantage of the limited choices available to African American consumers and capture black dollars.
Thus, beginning in the late 1960s, fast-food companies began targeting African Americans with multiethnic marketing campaigns, advertisements crafted by a pathbreaking cohort of tastemakers who enlisted black celebrities, scored R&B and rap tunes and used black idioms to ingratiate themselves to black consumers. From the “Getting Down with Something Good at McDonald’s” advertisements of the 1970s to Muhammad Ali, James Brown and Mahalia Jackson’s brief forays into franchising, the fast-food industry made a concerted effort to court black consumers.
When combined with welcoming atmospheres in their restaurants, as well as convenient locations in black neighborhoods, these advertisements helped cement the bond between black consumers and fast food establishments — including Popeyes.
Popeyes capitalized on the desire of African Americans to feel at home. Founded by New Orleans businessman Al Copeland in 1972, Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits entered a field dominated by Kentucky Fried Chicken. After a few setbacks, Copeland, who was white, realized that he could make Popeyes a success by offering a more spicy take on what Colonel Sanders was offering. He branded the taste as “Cajun,” and the heat in the chicken coupled with side dishes like red beans and rice enamored many black diners.
In taste tests across the fast-food industry, blacks indicated that they used a variety of spices at home that drew upon the diversity of seasonings that represented the indigenous dishes of the African and Caribbean Diasporas to the United States, and they preferred a similar kick when they dined out.
Market research in the late 1970s and early 1980s by the African American research firm ViewPoint Inc. revealed that black customers didn’t buy Copeland’s central marketing claim, which was that Popeyes sold authentic, spicy Cajun cuisine. But black customers remained loyal to the brand anyway, because they felt that Popeyes respected them, and they liked the food.