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

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, March 6, 2025 - Full Show

Joanna Hernandez hosts "Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices" on March 6, 2025. (WTTW News) How businesses and consumers are reacting to Trump’s tariff plans. And a program aimed at improving fresh food access loses federal funding. Read more >

Latino Voices

Pritzker Cutting Health Care Program for Noncitizens As Report Reveals Costs Far Exceeded Estimates

(agilemktg1 / Flickr) Gov. JB Pritzker’s recently unveiled 2026 budget proposal includes a controversial cut. It proposes to get rid of two programs that allow immigrants without legal status to receive healthcare coverage. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Feb. 27, 2025 - Full Show

Joanna Hernandez hosts "Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices" on Feb. 27, 2025. (WTTW News) Parents push back on the potential closures of some charter schools. Some undocumented immigrants are at risk of losing their health care coverage. And the leader of the Chicago Park District is stepping down. Read more >

Latino Voices

‘It’s Really Heartbreaking’: Undocumented Parents Share Their Experiences Amid Fears of Mass Deportations

A still photo from a WTTW News package on undocumented families. (WTTW News) Many undocumented families describe their lives as living in the shadows since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Mixed-status families who have called Chicago home for decades are feeling the impact of Trump’s promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. Read more >

Black Voices

New Documentary Explores History, Evolving Legacy of HBCUs

A still from the documentary “Opportunity, Access and Uplift: The Evolving Legacy of HBCUs." HBCUs, or historically Black colleges and universities, have been around for more than 188 years. They were founded out of necessity when predominantly White institutions barred Black students from attending. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Aug. 27, 2025 - Full Show

Brandis Friedman hosts the Aug. 27, 2025, episode of "Chicago Tonight: Black Voices." (WTTW News) How local officials plan to push back if the National Guard is deployed here. And the head of Chicago Public Schools on a crucial budget vote. Read more >

Black Voices

Austin Community Hub Creating New Opportunities for West Side Residents

(WTTW News) In 2013, Emmet Elementary School was one of 50 schools closed by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools. The Westside Health Authority and Austin Coming Together collaborated to redevelop the vacant building. Read more >

Black Voices

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on the National Guard, Cash Bail and Civil Commitments

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul appears on “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” on Aug. 27, 2025. (WTTW News) President Donald Trump has threatened to send National Guard troops to Chicago to address crime, calling the city “a killing field” despite violent crime being on a downward trend. 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

New Book Examines the Tulsa Race Massacre and Legal Battle Over Reparations

(Courtesy of the Department of Special Collections, McFarlin Library, the University of Tulsa) It’s been nearly 105 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre claimed the lives of hundreds of Black Tulsans. Over the course of two days in 1921, a mob of White people terrorized and burned down a thriving Black community known colloquially as Black Wall Street. 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 >