When the warm, tempting aroma of waffle fries wafts from a white paper bag, it’s hard to resist the pull of Chick-fil-A. After a long week, an eight count nugget or a spicy chicken sandwich might be just what you need. And in just ten minutes, your meal arrives with a smile. It’s a perfect customer experience. Almost too good to be true.
Davidson’s announcement of a new Chick-fil-A in the old Turner House on September 13th was met with excitement by much of the student body.
In The Davidsonian, Student Government Association (SGA) Sophomore Senator Abigail Przynosch ‘27 said, “I think that it’s apparent that obviously Chick-fil-A has some past policy decisions. […] I want to make it clear that SGA would never support an actively homophobic corporation.”
While some CNN headlines claim Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQIA ties are in the past, in reality, that’s a myth. The support persists—they just use clever business practices.
The Cathy Family founded Chick-fil-A in 1967. The wealthy evangelical Christian family’s flagship store is located in Greenbriar Shopping Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Chick-fil-A remains privately owned and is still run by the Cathy Family.
Chick-fil-A now has over 3,000 locations worldwide. In 2023, it generated $21.58 billion in sales, a 14.7% increase from 2022. It is the third most profitable fast food chain in the United States.
As a privately owned company, Chick-fil-A isn’t required to report detailed financial statistics or be accountable to shareholders. This means that, though it publicly stopped donating to anti-LGBTQIA groups in 2019, the Cathy Family can continue to support these causes behind closed doors.
Chick-fil-A’s legacy of discrimination is long and well-documented. Female employees have repeatedly taken legal action against the company’s ownership and franchisees for discriminating against mothers and pregnant women. From 1988 to 2012, Chick-fil-A faced at least twelve lawsuits related to workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. It was once common practice to screen and share new hires’ political and religious beliefs with the Cathy Family.
Aziz Latif, a former Chick-fil-A manager in Houston, sued the company in 2002, claiming he was fired a day after refusing to participate in a prayer to Jesus Christ at a company training program.
Former CEO, Dan Cathy, preferred married workers, believing they were more industrious and productive, according to a Forbes article. Family members of prospective operators—even children—were often interviewed to learn about candidates’ home lives.
“If a man can’t manage his own life, he can’t manage a business,” Dan Cathy said, adding he would likely fire an employee or terminate an operator who “has been sinful or done something harmful to their family.”
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission even sued Chick-fil-A for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and won a $10,000 settlement. John Charping, owner of a Chick-fil-A at Concord Commons in North Carolina, refused to hire Heather Morrison in 2012 because she was six months pregnant. During the interview, Charping asked inappropriate pregnancy-related questions about her due date, childcare plans, and maternity leave. Three days later, he told her she wouldn’t be hired and suggested she reapply after giving birth and arranging childcare.
Chick-fil-A is linked to the WinShape Foundation, the Cathy Family’s charitable foundation founded in 1984 by Truett and Jeanette Cathy. WinShape and its sister organization, Lifeshape, run camps and retreats for couples and promote evangelical values, including “traditional” marriage. Lifeshape emphasizes evangelical gender roles, particularly for young women. WinShape also recruits young teens at these camps to work at Chick-fil-A.
WinShape supports organizations with histories of discrimination against women and LGBTQIA individuals, such as Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, Exodus International (which advocated for conversion therapy), and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which has a chapter at Davidson College, requires leaders to adhere to its statement on faith and “sexual purity.” This statement defines sexual expression as appropriate only within a marriage between “one man and one woman” and states that gender identity is assigned at birth.
In 2012, Dan Cathy affirmed the company’s opposition to gay marriage in Baptist Press, saying he was “Guilty as charged.”
“We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that,” he added.
Dan Cathy’s remarks against gay marriage sparked a nation wide boycott. At Davidson College, students were so upset that, after a forum co-hosted by SGA and The Davidsonian, they banned Chick-fil-A from being served at Union Board events.
By 2020, facing court losses and negative publicity, the Cathy Family shifted their approach, now claiming to be an “equal opportunity employer that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Chick-fil-A does not hire based on various protected characteristics, including sex, race, religion, and sexual orientation, according to its website.
Still, despite publicly severing ideological ties, Chick-fil-A’s connection to WinShape remains. WinShape’s most recent June 2023 990 filing shows that Chick-fil-A donated $1.23 million. Dwarf House, a restaurant modeled after founder Truett Cathy’s first diner, contributed over $193,000.
Dan Cathy also continues to face significant criticism. In 2021, The Daily Beast looked into donations to the National Christian Foundation’s (NCF) efforts to block the Equality Act. This legislation would make it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQIA individuals. Dan Cathy donated significant funds to the NCF to help prevent the legislation’s passage. He also continues to support the foundation, which has funneled millions to anti-LGBTQIA, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant organizations.
There appears to be some cognitive dissonance within our student government. While SGA assumes Chick-fil-A is no longer actively homophobic—true, the company now has diversity, equity and inclusion policies, hires single women with children, and employs queer people—it’s not hard to connect the dots. There are some very tangible ties between Chick-fil-A and its founder’s discriminatory mission. The numbers are clear: the Cathy Family continues to funnel money from Chick-fil-A to WinShape to support their problematic beliefs.
Chick-fil-A has a low start-up cost, with an initial franchise investment of approximately $10,000, which is much lower than a competitor like Bojangles, which requires around $35,000. However, the franchise retains about 15% of sales and 50% of profits. This means more of your dining dollars will go toward these causes while it exists on this campus.
By supporting Chick-fil-A’s presence, we are indirectly funding organizations that oppose LGBTQIA and womens’ rights.
While individuals can certainly visit a Chick-fil-A any day of the week, it suggests to visitors, students, and faculty that Davidson endorses this corporation and its many causes.
Davidson College’s own statement on DEI reads: “We strive to sustain a culture of belonging for staff, faculty, and students from diverse cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, national origins, socio-economic backgrounds, and abilities.” It also says that “employee benefits plans reflect our commitment to all staff, including our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) staff.”
As a liberal arts school committed to these principles, it seems hypocritical to support a corporation that clearly does not advocate for the same ideals. Davidson College should oppose this on principle as a school that knows better.
A lingering question remains: what has changed among the student body since 2012, and why aren’t we demanding a public forum this time?
Georgia Hall is an Environmental Studies and French and Francophone Studies double major from London, England.