First hour: Afghan natives on their escape from the Taliban, and an update on the SIV program
Second hour: Andre Perry on why Black-owned homes are under-appraised
According to a report released early this month, the U.S. only evacuated about three percent of Afghans who applied for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) after working for the American government. That means about 78,000 people in that category are still trapped in Afghanistan and facing threats from the Taliban. Farzana Jamalzada arrived in Rochester on an SIV earlier this year. She had her husband, Anwarulhaq “Farhad” Khurami, had only been married a month before they fled their home country. Their journey to Rochester was facilitated by the local nonprofit organization, Keeping Our Promise. This hour, Jamalzada and Khurami share their story, and we discuss the latest with the SIV program. Our guests:
- Farzana Jamalzada, Afghan native who served the U.S. military
- Anwarulhaq “Farhad” Khurami, Afghan native
- Ellen Smith, executive director of Keeping Our Promise
- Laurel Prothero, assistant director of Keeping Our Promise
Then in our second hour, research shows Rochester under-appraises homes owned by African Americans by 65 percent. According to the Community Design Center Rochester, that’s the second highest percentage in the country. How can we ensure homeownership is accessible for everyone? It’s a question Andre Perry will address during the next Reshaping Rochester lecture through the Community Design Center. Perry is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. We preview his event with our guests:
- Andre Perry, Ph.D., senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, and author of “Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities"
- Lanie Bittner, president of the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS, Inc., and associate broker at RE/MAX Plus
