Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to info@milwaukeenns.org.
A few weeks ago, I took my 13-year-old son to get his haircut on a Sunday morning because, as many parents know, it is imperative for middle schoolers to look their best for school picture day.
On our drive home, we listened to satellite radio as they discussed the increase in alcohol abuse during this global pandemic. I began counting the number of liquor outlets in the neighborhood and asked my son to participate.
In a five-mile stretch, my son and I counted 18 liquor stores, yet there was not one grocery store with a focus on fresh, healthy foods. Many liquor stores have a small inventory of “food,” but they are mostly used for liquor, cigar and cigarette purchases.
This journey led me to recall studies that show a connection between alcohol consumption and violence — the five-mile stretch my son and I drove were through neighborhoods that have been historically impacted by violence.
The World Health Organization, or WHO, defines violence as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against another person, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.” In its policy briefing “Interpersonal Violence and Alcohol,” WHO states that harmful alcohol use is estimated to be responsible for 26% of male and 16% of female disability-adjusted life years lost through homicide. Further, the role of harmful alcohol consumption as a risk factor for violent victimization and perpetration is increasingly being identified throughout the world.
In the Blueprint for Peace, Milwaukee’s community-driven violence prevention strategic plan, an identified risk factor that contributes to violence is “high alcohol outlet density.” This means that neighborhoods with a higher density of bars and alcohol outlets, such as convenience and liquor stores, tend to have higher rates of violence, including child maltreatment.
In the 1991 urban classic film “Boyz n the Hood,” Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) takes his son Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and friend (Morris Chestnut) to Compton to show them the impact of gentrification. In the discussion, Furious asked, “Why is there a gun shop on every corner in this community?” When a local resident asked, “Why?” Furious continued, “I’ll tell you why — for the same reason there’s a liquor store on almost every corner in the Black community. Why? They want us to kill ourselves.”
We have to ask ourselves some thought-provoking questions: What message does the high volume of liquor stores send to our communities, especially those highly impacted by violence? What message does this give to our children, who see advertisements on various alcoholic brands in these same neighborhoods?
This is exactly why we must understand the complexities of violence as we discuss prevention strategies. Knowing and understanding the growing number of alcohol outlets and its connection to violence is just as important as the daily discussions on access to firearms in this country.
The Blueprint for Peace is the foundational plan that can guide violence prevention in Milwaukee and lead to the creation of collaborative opportunities that uplift fundamental change in our neighborhoods.
A proud native of Milwaukee and graduate of Milwaukee Public Schools, Jamaal Smith has committed the last 10 years of his life to serving the Milwaukee community in roles at Safe and Sound, YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, NAACP Milwaukee and more. He is currently the violence prevention manager at the City of Milwaukee Health Department’ Office of Violence Prevention.
Pat M says
Great article Jamall. It is a sad but true story. Our food desert is so vast across the City of Milwaukee. Our access to healthy food is so limited. If you have nothing but bad choices around you, what can you expect? This phenomenon keeps people down with no chance of getting out. And our Alderman allow more and more of these vice businesses to open and they could stop this on the grounds of concentration.
Gerald Roesch says
Fantastic article. Thank you for the wake up call. As a person who has my one beer a month, I forget about those who do not live as comfortably as I do and who find solace in cheap liquor so that they can drown out the reality of life as we allow it to be for all too many people. Why do we allow there to be so many liquor stores available in such a great margin over grocery stores with healthy food? Why does our city council allow such a great number? Besides being a source of taxable revenue for the city and state, what are the real costs of these stores? How do these stores harm our youth?
We have a great resource of intelligent youth. By the number of liquor stores allowed, we are telling these youth that they have an importance in the community and if these stores have an importance in the community, what they sell must have a distinct importance to each of these youth, something to strive for as they reach adulthood. Why can’t we limit the number of liquor stores to 75% of the number of full service grocery stores having healthy and wholesome food on which these youth would gain strength both mentally and physically?
How many times have you heard of a grocery store being robbed vs. the number of times that a liquor store has been robbed? Why is this? First of all, the amount of money that a liquor store brings in is many times greater than a grocery store, but it is also the lack of hope that a liquor store shouts. Maybe by having this one bottle of whatever it will numb the pain of the hopelessness that I feel.
Yes, we need to definitely eliminate the discrepancy of wealth, but one of the ways is to eliminate the false hopes that is shown by the number of liquor stores that are shoved in the faces of our citizens who look at this false hope.
Tony Shields says
Great insights Jamaal! And 100% on point!
Vanessa May says
Fantastic article. Also research the alcoholic beverage related disease and death rates for the area via county and city health & death stats. There is a direct correlation between the number/density of off sale alcoholic beverage outlets and the rates of alcoholic beverage related disease and death in a community.