The recent closure of a Boston-area Walgreens is tied to racism, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) claimed earlier this week.
The member of the far-left “Squad” of congressional Democrats accused the Illinois-based company of engaging in a “life-threatening act of racial and economic discrimination” over its decision to shutter a pharmacy Wednesday in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, a predominantly minority community.
“Walgreens is planning to close yet another pharmacy in the Massachusetts 7th. This time on Warren Street in Roxbury – a community that is 85% Black and Latino,” Pressley said during a speech on the House floor Tuesday.
The 49-year-old lawmaker called the closure “part of a larger trend of abandoning low-income communities,” pointing to previous Walgreens store closures in her district.
“When a Walgreens leaves a neighborhood, they disrupt the entire community and they take with them baby formula, diapers, asthma inhalers, life-saving medications, and, of course, jobs,” Pressley continued.
“These closures are not arbitrary and they are not innocent. They are life-threatening acts of racial and economic discrimination,” she claimed.
Backed by her fellow state Democrats Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Pressley said the Massachusetts lawmakers “demand answers” from the company about its decision to close up shop in Roxbury.
“Roxbury’s closure was due to several factors including the cost of operating, low prescription volume and low reimbursement rates,” a Walgreens corporate spokesperson told The Post, calling the decision to shutter the store “difficult” but necessary “as a result of the current operating environment and our financial performance.”
The company spokesperson noted that Walgreens is “committed to health equity,” pointing out that about half the company’s stores in the Boston area are located in neighborhoods that have been “traditionally underserved.”
Walgreens said it pushed back the Roxbury closure by two weeks and is working on “transportation solutions” for customers and offering them free same-day delivery for the next three months.
“We look forward to working with elected officials, community leaders and others to address the barriers that make it difficult for us to operate pharmacies in various communities across the country,” the spokesperson said.
Walgreens didn’t specifically name crime or retail theft as a reason for the Roxbury closure, but viral videos of thieves ransacking the company’s stores across the country have raised suspicions on social media.
“Maybe tell your friends to stop robbing the store and Walgreens won’t leave the neighborhood,” Kevin Smith, host of the “Loud Majority Live” podcast, tweeted in response to Pressley’s remarks.
“Maybe we should defund the police some more. Yeah yeah, that will probably help.” Patrick Byrne, the former chairman and CEO of Overstock.com, wrote on X.
“Okay @RepPressley, pass the hat, raise money and put a store in the Walgreens location. Let’s see how the race card works when people steal from you,” conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder said in an X post.
The National Retail Federation has blamed “unprecedented levels” of theft for growing shrink rates – the industry term for lost inventory – at retailers across the country.
The trade group’s most recent study found that shrink rates increased to 1.6% in fiscal year 2022, up from 1.4% the previous year, amounting to $112.1 billion in losses.
In her floor speech, Pressley said Walgreens’ “talking points about health equity and underserved communities is not enough.”
“Walgreens is a multi-billion-dollar corporation that needs to put their money where their mouth is and stop divesting from Black and brown communities,” she added.
“Shame on you, Walgreens.”
