Latino Voices
Latino Voices
Grassroots Effort Grows Into Queer-Led Community Hub in Gage Park
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
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
“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
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
Illinois Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala Reflects On Pandemic, Addressing Inequities In Education
Carmen Ayala is retiring after a career in education spanning nearly 40 years. She's both the first woman and person of color to hold the position as the state's top education official.
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Little Village Honors Memory of Shooting Victim Melissa Ortega
It's been one year since 8-year-old Melissa Ortega was shot to death in Little Village. The community is honoring her memory with a mural and peace tree.
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Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Jan. 28, 2023 - Full Show
Keeping kids heathy amid high obesity rates. The state's outgoing schools superintendent on lessons learned from the pandemic. And a Waukegan gym hoping to uplift women.
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Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Jan. 21, 2023 - Full Show
Safety and travel concerns over violence in Mexico. Street vendors under attack in Little Village. Construction career training. And it's game night.
Read more >Black Voices
City Colleges of Chicago Announces Timuel D. Black Jr. Scholarship and Fellowship
The program honors the life and work of Timuel D. Black Jr., the late City Colleges professor, activist and historian. The goal is to help 20 City Colleges students develop into community leaders in the mold of Black, who died in 2021 at the age of 102.
Read more >Black Voices
Mission Possible: Makerspace Nation Offers Competition for $30,000 School Makerspace in Chicago
A new competition for STEAM educators (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) could net a Chicago school a $30,000 makerspace full of equipment to encourage problem-solving thinking. The deadline to apply is March 10.
Read more >Black Voices
Childbirth is Deadlier for Black Families at Any Income, Study Finds
A nearly decade-long study from the National Bureau of Economic Research looked at births in California. The study found that babies born to the richest Black women were still more likely to die than babies born to the poorest White women.
Read more >Black Voices
‘You Didn’t See Nothin’ Podcast Revisits 1997 Bridgeport Hate Crime
In 1997, 13-year-old Lenard Clark was beaten into a coma simply for being Black in a White neighborhood. Chicago leaders began calling for racial reconciliation — a rapid turn that stuck with Yohance Lacour, then a fledgling journalist.
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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
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
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Feb. 26, 2025 - Full Show
City Hall narrowly approves a controversial new borrowing deal. And the history behind the Chicago dance style known as steppin’.
Read more >Latino Voices
New Short Film Showcases Life, Work of Puerto Rican Activist
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
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’
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
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.
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