Retailers Accused Of “Racism” As They Flee Black Neighborhoods In Milwaukee

Milwaukee is the latest in a long list of US cities facing a rapid retail exodus in minority neighborhoods and once again the blame is being placed on the companies in question rather than the behavior of the residents as they protests the rising tide of “food deserts”.

At the beginning of July, city officials mounted a public outcry after Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. announced the decision to close at least five Pick ‘n Save supermarket locations, including one in Milwaukee’s Metcalfe Park neighborhood. 

The city was also notified by Walgreens that they will be closing at least seven locations over the next two years and CVS will be closing some locations as well.  Activists argue that the closures center around “black and brown neighborhoods” and that these areas “deserve access” to nearby grocery outlets.  

Kroger’s decision was discussed at a July 2 meeting of the Common Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee.  Many people walk or take the bus to buy food, said Alderwoman Sharlen P. Moore. If the store is gone, they may have nowhere close to shop.  “This impacts our city,” Moore said. “They’re closing quite a bit of grocery stores that are in neighborhoods that absolutely have no access to groceries.”

Angry residents presented a number of far-left arguments and solutions, including finding ways to force companies to keep stores open and “boycotting” the stores (which are closing anyway).  They also suggested recruiting help from the “Party Of Socialism And Liberation” (PSL) as a means to put pressure on exiting businesses.  Their motto?  “For the planet to live, capitalism must end”.

Though Milwaukee saw a promising dip in overall crime rates (except homicides) in the first quarter of 2025, the city deals with a continuing trend of high retail theft.  Leftists blame low wages and Trump policies which they claim are causing “inflation” (the majority of current inflation was generated under the Biden Administration, not Trump).  The neighborhoods losing the most retail access are neighborhoods with higher crime.  In other words, if the residents stopped stealing, those stores might stay open.

As usual, however, the narrative turns to victimization and marginalization. 

The situation is symbolic of the enduring conundrum for blue city progressives and their socialist ilk – They want to be able to steal from the wealthy in the name of “reparations”, but they can’t force the wealthy to stick around.  Companies can only be bled dry if they sit passively and expose a vein.  When they simply walk away, there’s nothing that leftists can do.  Walking away is kryptonite for socialists.

This is why protests like those in Milwaukee and other blue cities over food deserts achieve nothing.

No one is entitled to retail access.  No community deserves to have a grocery store nearby.  Businesses must be able to maintain enough profit to make a store location viable.   There are hundreds of grocery outlets in the Milwaukee region; the complaint is not that stores are gone, the complaint is that the people in affected neighborhoods don’t want to drive a few miles to the next closest location.

A fundamental adjustment in behavior in minority communities could very well revitalize their business environment.  All they have to do is stop committing crimes and the stores will come flooding back in.