Boston officials accuse Walgreens of 'racism' for closing some stores
Walgreens is closing three locations in the Boston neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Nubian Square and Mattapan
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Boston city officials have accused Walgreens of racism after the pharmacy giant said it would be closing three stores in primarily Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
In a statement to WCVB, Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson said corporate businesses have for too long "treated Black, brown and working-class communities as though we are second-class citizens."
The Walgreens retail chain will close three stores in low-income neighborhoods in November, inconveniencing some prescription medication customers. (Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The statement came in response to Walgreens announcing it was closing three pharmacies in the Boston neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Nubian Square and Mattapan – all of which are mostly non-white working-class communities.
Councilor Brian Worrell also accused Walgreens of closing these facilities without conducting studies on the possible impacts or giving enough notice to customers.
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On Wednesday, the city council passed a resolution requesting that Walgreens postpone all closures of Boston locations until it meets certain commitments.
The statement accused Walgreens of supposedly hiding behind "financial loss to justify store closure while double earnings and increasing CEO pay [while] the average Walgreens cashier in Boston earns the minimum wage–$14.25 an hour.
City councilors argued that having a Walgreens in the neighborhood was vital for many residents who do not have cars, are low-income and need access to medicines and household goods.
People wait on a line at a CityMD Urgent Care location on Nov. 17, 2020, in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin ii / AP Newsroom)
"Elderly community members, many of whom have mobility issues and are on a fixed income, rely on having a pharmacy within close confines of their environs, potentially leading to significant personal and public health issues interconnected with and exacerbated by issues of ageism, racism, and class inequality," the statement said.
City councilors called on Walgreens to postpone planned closures until a "robust plan is implemented" to guarantee the impacted communities will still have access to their medications.
Walgreens did not immediately respond to FOX Business for comment. In a statement to WCVB, the company said it wanted to create "the right network of stores in the right locations."
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"When faced with the difficult task of closing a particular location, several factors are taken into account, including things like the dynamics of the local market and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers, for example," Walgreens said.