Text & Video by Julian Lucas
Published September 14, 2020 11:51pm PST
In 2018, I completed a photo essay by of all the liquor stores throughout the city of Pomona. In my finding, I was in disbelief of how many stores there were that carried beer, wine, and most of all hard liquor. After contacting the Alcohol and Beverage Control, I was even more astounded and concerned that a city would allow for so many entities to possess sale liquor licenses. Also, these businesses possessing off-sale liquor licenses were less than a mile away from 27 Schools.
Pomona Active Off-Sale Retail License as of October 2020
Active On-Sale Retail Licenses
CITY DATA
According to the U.S. Census, Pomona makes up about 151k people with a median income of 55k per year 19k per capita. The city also makes up the mostly Latino population of 71%. What I also found interesting is 14.7 people are living without health care vs 7.1. Education level showed 68% percent of people possessing a high school diploma, while only 17.7% possessed a degree.
After revisiting the Alcohol and Beverage Control, I found at least 4 more entities were possessing an active off-sale license.
Are black and brown communities being taken advantage of? Is the availability of liquor disproportionately found in lower socioeconomic communities of color vs white communities?
Links:
Julian Lucas, is fine art photographer, photojournalist, and creative strategist. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking homeless veterans to housing. Julian has lived in Chicago, Inglewood, Portland, and the suburbs of Los Angeles County including Pomona.
