© 2025 Western New York Public Broadcasting Association

140 Lower Terrace
Buffalo, NY 14202

Toronto Address:
130 Queens Quay E.
Suite 903
Toronto, ON M5A 0P6

Mailing Address:
Horizons Plaza P.O. Box 1263
Buffalo, NY 14240-1263

Buffalo Toronto Public Media | Phone 716-845-7000
BTPM NPR Newsroom | Phone: 716-845-7040

Differing shades of blue wavering throughout the image

Give Now

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Truth Be Told

Homeownership: Race, Wealth & the Fight for Belonging

Published November 21, 2025 at 10:36 AM EST

Ways To Subscribe

Homeownership is supposed to offer stability. But for many Black families, it still comes with barriers that have nothing to do with income and everything to do with history. In this episode, Wylie and Njeri Hughes share their journey across continents and into Western New York, where they face credit hurdles, loan restrictions, closed doors, coded language and outright discrimination in their search for a home. Their experience exposes how the legacy of redlining reshapes modern lending, neighborhood culture and access to opportunity. A moving look at the emotional and financial toll of buying a home while Black and the resilience it takes to keep pushing for a place where your family can finally belong.

Truth Be Told Season 1

Latest Episodes

Legacy & Generational Impact: Storytelling, Culture & Community

In this final episode, Kenneth and Sharon Holley, owners of Zawadi Books, share how literacy, oral tradition and Black entrepreneurship shaped their lives and their community. From childhood comic - book libraries to decades of cultural stewardship, their story shows how family history becomes community history and how stories keep us rooted.
End of Life & Generational Joy: Caregiving, Loss & Love

In this episode, Rene Petties - Jones shares her experience navigating dementia, hospice and the emotional weight of becoming a caregiver for her mother. Her story shines a light on the inequities Black families face at the end of life and the cultural traditions that bring joy and dignity even in grief.
Retirement: Aging, Inequity & the Weight of a Lifetime

How does a lifetime of racial inequity shape life in our later years? In this episode, activist, educator and community leader Dr. Barbara Nevergold reflects on coming to Buffalo as part of the Great Migration.
Fatherhood: Breaking Cycles & Rewriting the Narrative

The stereotype of the “absent Black father” is powerful and deeply misleading. In this episode, Al Smith shares his journey from a childhood shaped by addiction, the crack epidemic and disrupted family systems to becoming a devoted single father and police officer.
Young Adulthood: Work, Opportunity & the Barriers to Economic Mobility

What happens when the path to a good job is filled with obstacles you never created? In this episode, we follow Vanessa Hall, who grew up in public housing in Lackawanna and spent years juggling low - wage work, long bus rides, caregiving and limited opportunities.
Flying the Nest: Higher Education and the Fight for Opportunity

What does the road to college really look like for first-generation students of color? In this episode, Sherman Webb-Middlebrooks reflects on growing up in Buffalo, discovering the HEOP program by chance and navigating hunger, culture shock and isolation on a campus where few people looked like him.
Adolescence: Confronting the School-to-Prison Pipeline

When does school stop being a safe place and start pushing kids out? In this episode, Kenneth Simmons shares his journey from a promising student in the South to navigating poverty, instability and a school system that punished instead of supported.
Pre-Adolescence: Navigating Racial Bias in Educational Systems

What happens when schools stop seeing Black children as children? In this episode of Truth Be Told, Chelest Ponzo shares her family’s story navigating bias, discipline and advocacy inside America’s education system. We examine how racial bias and ableism shape educational experiences from elementary school onward.
Childhood: Education, Identity and Growth

How does identity form in childhood? And who helps shape it? Every child deserves to see themselves reflected in the world around them. In this episode of Truth Be Told, parents and educators Akil and Mariyama Ajamu share their story of raising and teaching Black children with pride, purpose and power.
Infancy and Early Childhood: Foundations for Health and Joy

What does it take to build a healthy start for a child when the odds are stacked against you? In this episode of Truth Be Told, we follow Faye Gomez, a mother of three under 3, as she works to provide health and joy for her children amid food deserts, housing challenges, and limited child care.