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Markey, Warren, Pressley accuse Walgreens of targeting minority neighborhoods with closures

A letter from the three elected officials warns of the potential “insurmountable, even deadly” consequences of closing the Warren Street Walgreens in Roxbury.

January 21, 2024

2 minutes to read

A trio of Boston’s elected officials — Sens. Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley — have urged Walgreens to keep their location on Warren Street in Roxbury open following a string of Walgreens closures in neighborhoods populated by a majority of people of color.

“This closure represents the latest in a series of Walgreens closures in predominately Black and Latino neighborhoods in Massachusetts, including Roxbury, Mattapan, and Hyde Park, since 2022,” reads a letter released Friday from Markey, Warren and Pressley on the matter, “Closing yet another Walgreens will make it harder for people in these communities to get essential medications, household goods, and groceries.”

The letter goes on to point out that closing these specific Walgreens locations is further widening a gap in access to food, prescriptions, and other essential goods created by a legacy of historic racial and economic discrimination.

Walgreens, when the closure was announced, said the pharmacy patient files would be transferred to the nearest open location. However, this location is a mile away.

“More than 20 percent of Roxbury residents are food insecure, and parts of the neighborhood are more than half a mile from a grocery store. Boston hosts some of the greatest disparities in the country in access to pharmacies between predominately Black and Latino neighborhoods compared to predominately white neighborhoods,” reads the letter.

The letter warns that for people without access to reliable transportation, seniors, and those with mobility restrictions, an extra mile to get medications such as insulin or inhalers could be “insurmountable, even deadly.”

Walgreens, in a statement to The Boston Globe about this issue, said they are “committed to our patients in Roxbury and across Boston” and will be waiving one-to-two-day home delivery fees as well as working with customers to assist in downloading the Walgreens app which “includes many other convenient shopping and prescription filling options.”

“These closures have removed a lifeline for our Boston residents. It’s not just business, it’s people’s lives, and more specifically, Black and brown people’s lives,” state Rep. Christopher Worrell told the Globe.

The Warren Street Walgreens will close Jan. 31, but representatives said they’re working on finding residents a new option to access their essential prescriptions.