The corner liquor store: race, retail, and health risk in urban African American communities

美国国家酒精滥用和酒精中毒研究所指出，“人们喝酒是为了社交、庆祝和娱乐

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that “people drink to socialize, celebrate, and relax.” Indeed, alcohol consumption features prominently in American social life, is widely consumed in the population, and is extensively marketed. Yet, national health data show that African Americans are more likely to abstain from alcohol use. For example, according to the 2016 National Health Insurance Survey, 57.6% of White, but 43.6% of Black adults were current regular drinkers. However, African Americans who do drink consume more alcohol and are often more likely to engage in binge drinking. As well, this population has a higher risk for developing alcohol-related liver disease. Alcohol is also linked to a number of other conditions from which African Americans suffer high morbidity and mortality such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Because the unequal burden of chronic disease among African Americans is not attributable solely to individual socioeconomic status or access to health care, research is needed to contextualize alcohol-related health risks. A significant body of research has documented that African American communities are heavily exposed to liquor stores, a mismatch that is discordant from drinking patterns. Liquor store density is associated with greater consumption of alcohol and with a number of negative outcomes ranging from injury to sexually transmitted disease. Beyond immediate health risks related to consumption, liquor stores exert systematic pressures on African American communities of which health outcomes are but one. By inducing a cascade of socioeconomic and social stressors, and by perpetuating racial inequalities in institutional practices and social relations, liquor stores have a profound and capacious reach in Black life. To date, these impacts have been little interrogated. The proposed study seeks to advance research on social determinants of health by conducting historical analyses of liquor store prevalence, operations, merchandise, and alcoholic beverage marketing in urban African American communities from approximately 1945 to the present. Drawing on a diverse set of archival resources, street observation of stores, and interviews with liquor store workers, the proposed work will make an innovative contribution to research on neighborhood context and health.