Stories by Joanna Hernandez

Curtis “The Grandyman” Granderson spent 16 seasons playing Major League Baseball. Now he’s passing down those years of experience to the next generation of players and inspiring them to pursue college.

El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Day, is a two-day celebration where people come together to remember their late loved ones. It’s a beautiful, colorful tradition with festivities, music and food.

Deronis Cooper said getting his hands in the dirt helps him cope with the challenges of being a police officer. What started with four planters has grown into more than 50 plant species in his backyard.

Tania León is an Afro-Cuban Latina composer who has made her mark by following the rhythm of her own beat. León’s pieces carry both her Caribbean influences and the sounds of her travels.

Accelerated Moving Events use federal funding to connect people to housing, among other services. During an event, clients work with the AME team to browse apartment units, fill out an application and pick out furniture from the Chicago Furniture Bank.

You have probably had these debates before. Is it pop or soda? Fireflies or lightning bugs? Well, just like the English language, in Spanish, people use different words to describe the same thing depending on where they’re from. So we headed out to ask people, “¿Cómo se dice la palabra?”

A dance studio on the Northwest Side is working to keep a Mexican tradition alive. And for a group of young dancers, there is joy to be found in every step and turn.

Get an inside look at how a regional task force is working to apprehend carjackers across Chicago. 

Being a first-generation Latino American comes with rewards and struggles — from honoring your roots while defining your identity as an American to dealing with the weight of family expectations while forging your own path.

This week marks one year since the first bus of asylum seekers arrived in Chicago from the southern border. Since then, WTTW News has covered the city’s and volunteers’ response to aid the thousands of migrants seeking shelter.

As students return, so to do the Safe Passage workers who are tasked with making sure students make it and from school safely.

Jazmin Flores, the young entrepreneur and owner of Taqueria Las Flores, used her savings to open the restaurant four years ago. She stayed open through the pandemic and navigated financial struggles. Now she’s forced to start over.

“We’re doing all this work with people and mental illness and working with their individual issues, but then when they would leave us, they would go out to the community with minimal services,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said. “And I said, OK, we will set up our own services office.”

Local organizations are demanding answers from the Chicago Police Department amid allegations that officers at the Ogden (10th) Police District headquarters had sexual relations with migrants.

Chicago CRED aims to approach violence reduction by engaging with those most at risk of being shot. The nonprofit organization, which has nine locations, provides young men in the city with opportunities to change their lives through services like life coaching and education.

Starting a business from scratch takes a lot of work — not to mention capital. A startup initiative from Google is helping Black and Latino entrepreneurs reach their goals.

Breaking into the music industry is not an easy task, but a local family is working to help guide artists. Brighton Park residents Jorge Ledezma and Lupe Martinez created the record label No Sé Discos in 2021. From the vocals to the instrumental, each artist has a niche.

Historically, the medical mistreatment of people of color has resulted in the mistrust of a system that saves lives. With health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease on the rise within Black and Brown communities, physicians are working to restore trust.

Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) hosted a community meeting Tuesday to discuss the city’s plan to use parts of Wright College as a respite center — a temporary location where 400 asylum seekers will have a place to rest, take a shower and receive a hot meal as the city works to find shelter for them.

The residents say they have filed a motion for an emergency temporary restraining order against the city of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools to prevent a migrant respite center from opening in the former South Shore High School building.

Dozens of residents from the area and neighboring communities attended the capacity event. According to the city, the plan is to use the first floor of the former high school, giving 500 asylum seekers a space to stay temporarily as local efforts continue to find shelter for them.

Chicago officials say they are having a hard time finding places for migrants to stay, with dozens now sleeping at police facilities.

Despite more people receiving organs, it’s still not enough to meet high demand. Recently, the U.S. government announced a plan to revamp the way organ recipients are chosen and organs distributed. 

Public libraries can be a safe haven for those struggling with homelessness. That’s the story of a local barber who benefited from the library’s resources to turn his life around. From living in the streets to becoming a licensed barber, Samuel Brown is now on a mission to pay it forward.

On Friday, people around the world came together for the annual Transgender Day of Visibility, a day to celebrate the resilience of transgender and nonbinary people.

It’s been more than six months since hundreds of migrants arrived in buses from the Texas border. At Grace and Peace Church in North Austin, a congregation is helping asylum seekers through their journeys.