Latino Voices

Latino Voices

Grassroots Effort Grows Into Queer-Led Community Hub in Gage Park

Antonio Santos and Katia Martinez founded the Gage Park Latinx Council. (WTTW News) In a neighborhood where nearly 90% of residents identify as Latino and many families are rooted in Catholic traditions, the queer-led Gage Park Latinx Council has grown into a hub for families. Read more >

Latino Voices

New Short Film Showcases Life, Work of Puerto Rican Activist

The case and crew of the short film “Mataron A Pedro” at a screening in Chicago. (Carmona Rivera / National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture) Members of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community recently took park in a special screening of a new short film based on the life of Pedro Albizu Campos.  Read more >

Black Voices

Black Voices

‘Other Washingtons’ Art Installation Aims to Reimagine Who We Choose to Remember

Amanda Williams' new art installation around the George Washington statue in Washington Park features artists, inventors, educators and leaders. (WTTW News) “Other Washingtons” is an art intervention located around the George Washington statue at 51st Street and Martin Luther King Drive that features artists, inventors, educators and other inspirational leaders, all with the last name Washington. Read more >

Black Voices

Take a Look Inside the 1903 Frank Lloyd Wright House a Chicago Nonprofit Is Working to Restore

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House, a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2025. (Eric Allix Rogers) In the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side sits the J.J. Walser House, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1903. A local organization is working to preserve the landmark and transform it into a community asset for generations to come. Read more >

Latino Voices

Pilsen Food Pantry Purchases Permanent Home

Pilsen Food Pantry purchased a permanent home at 21st and Ashland. (WTTW News) Since it first opened inside a health clinic in 2018 and moved to a deconsecrated church in 2019, the Pilsen Food Pantry has expanded its offerings and ambition. Read more >

Latino Voices

Cook County, Bad Neighbor: Addressing Smog Pollution in Latino Communities

(WTTW News) Cook County is the worst neighbor in the country when it comes to smog, according to new data from the EPA. Health-damaging smog can travel hundreds of miles to neighboring counties and states. Read more >

Latino Voices

As Emergency SNAP Benefits End, Community Food Organizations Prepare to Meet Increased Demand

(WTTW News) Households in Illinois receiving SNAP food benefits will see them decrease in March as a pandemic-era policy giving families additional benefits comes to an end. The average person will receive about $90 less in SNAP benefits per month. Read more >

Latino Voices

Birrieria Ocotlan Stews on 50 Years of Tradition and Tacos

(WTTW News) When Andy Reyes rhapsodizes about the perfect bowl of birria, he has generations of his forebears speaking through him. His family’s birria recipe dates back to 1926, when his great-grandfather developed his own version of the stewed goat dish in Ocotlan, Jalisco. Read more >

Black Voices

‘We Won’t Stand for It’: American Library Association’s Tracie Hall Talks Book Ban Efforts

Tracie Hall, the first Black woman to lead the Chicago-based American Library Association, appeared on “Black Voices” on April 22, 2023. (WTTW News) Tracie Hall, the first Black woman to lead the Chicago-based American Library Association, has been named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, April 15, 2023 - Full Show

(WTTW News) The Black unemployment rate hits a new low. What the diversity of working journalists means for news coverage. And the Chicago Public Library partnering with a local barber. Read more >

Black Voices

Creating More Diverse Newsrooms in Light of Study Showing Disparities in Staffing, Coverage

(Cytonn Photography / Unsplash) A recent Pew Research Center study found that just 6% of reporting journalists were Black in a sample of nearly 12,000 journalists. Read more >

Black Voices

Black Unemployment Rate Falls to Record Low in March

(WTTW News) The Black unemployment rate hit a record low of 5% last month, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The news comes three years after the rate spiked to nearly 17% during the early months of the pandemic. Read more >

Join WTTW News every weekend for analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts and life, entrepreneurship and innovation, and equity and justice across the sectors of our society and in the Black and Latino communities in Chicago. Make the VOICES series your definitive source for real conversation and a platform for different voices and perspectives.

Latino Voices

Black Voices

Latino Voices

Grassroots Effort Grows Into Queer-Led Community Hub in Gage Park

Antonio Santos and Katia Martinez founded the Gage Park Latinx Council. (WTTW News) In a neighborhood where nearly 90% of residents identify as Latino and many families are rooted in Catholic traditions, the queer-led Gage Park Latinx Council has grown into a hub for families. Read more >

Black Voices

What Comes Next for Police Reform Efforts in Chicago Amid COPA Leadership Changes

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) Andrea Kersten recently resigned as chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA. The move happened after the city’s police oversight board issued a letter to Kersten saying it was planning to take a vote of no confidence in her leadership. Read more >

Latino Voices

New Short Film Showcases Life, Work of Puerto Rican Activist

The case and crew of the short film “Mataron A Pedro” at a screening in Chicago. (Carmona Rivera / National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture) Members of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community recently took park in a special screening of a new short film based on the life of Pedro Albizu Campos.  Read more >

Black Voices

Take a Look Inside the 1903 Frank Lloyd Wright House a Chicago Nonprofit Is Working to Restore

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House, a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2025. (Eric Allix Rogers) In the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side sits the J.J. Walser House, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1903. A local organization is working to preserve the landmark and transform it into a community asset for generations to come. Read more >

 

Black Voices

Free Boxing Club Empowers West Side Youth: ‘They Feel the Confidence’

(WTTW News) Roy Flowers started his boxing club in 2021 in the hopes of creating healthy, supportive spaces for the youth in his community. “I just wanted to be the mentor that I wish I had.” Read more >

Latino Voices

‘Like Lightning Struck’: Community Marks 60 Years Since the First Division Street Riot, Puerto Rican Rebellion

(Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum) While events for the community are planned for the entire weekend to celebrate Puerto Rican pride and culture, this year also honors the history of Chicago’s Boricua community — marking the 60-year anniversary of the first Division Street riot. Read more >