WBFO will host a Facebook Live event at 7 pm Wednesday, May 9, on housing and the legacy of discriminatory policies in Buffalo and cities across the United States. “Housing in Black and White” is part of the station’s “Community Conversations on Racial Equity” project. The year-long project aims to engage the community in discussions about racial equity and the need to ensure Buffalo’s recent economic and cultural resurgence benefits the entire population through ongoing reporting on WBFO and four Facebook Live events.

WBFO Reporter Angelica Morrison will moderate the “Housing in Black and White” Facebook Live event with panelists:

•             Henry Taylor Jr., Founding Director of the University at Buffalo’s Center for Urban Studies

•             Dr. Melinda Cameron, UB Pediatrics and Medical Director for Lead Poisoning Prevention Center of Western New York

•             Sarah Wooton, Policy Analyst for the Partnership for the Public Good

•             John Washington, Director of Organizing for PUSH Buffalo

The discussion, which will be hosted on WBFO’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/wbfo887/), will dive into the legacy of the federal government's red-lining policy, which made it easier for whites to get mortgages in the suburbs while denying loans in many African-American city neighborhoods. Meanwhile, local government policies – such as replacing the Olmsted-designed Humboldt Parkway with a sunken, six-lane highway – further damaged East Buffalo communities.