Latino Voices
Latino Voices
Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive
Nationally, the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home declined from 78% in 2000 to 68% in 2024, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. The decline has been particularly pronounced among U.S.-born Latinos, as English becomes increasingly dominant across generations.
Read more >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
Black Voices
Smithsonian Head Lonnie Bunch on Preserving History, Retirement and Trump Administration Threats
Lonnie Bunch was named secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 2019. He began his career at the Smithsonian at the National Air and Space Museum in 1978 and took on a new role in 2005 to lead the development of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago State University Gears Up for First-Ever Football Game
For Chicago State University, the first game will be about more than football. The university is hoping the new program can help build a new sports identity on Chicago’s South Side.
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Constructing a New Career with Free 11-Week Job Training Program at YWCA
The YWCA Metropolitan Chicago is now accepting applications for a free 11-week program that pays its trainees a stipend to learn the basics of construction and utilities trades.
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DHS Outlines Protections for Immigrant Workers Experiencing Labor Violations
The new policy allows undocumented workers to make complaints about labor violations and to participate in investigations without fear of immigration-related retaliation.
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Puerto Rican Culture, Hospitality on the Board at the Stay and Play Game Cafe
Owners Yesenia and Jose Maldonado hosted game nights for years before taking the leap and converting a former bar into a bright, tropically tinged haven for game play.
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Volunteers Work to Protect Little Village Street Vendors Amid Uptick in Robberies
Vendors have rallied in front of the Chicago Police Department headquarters, asking for more police presence in the morning, when many vendors are out as early as 4 a.m.
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
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Feb. 25, 2023 - Full Show
With just days until Election Day, what’s on the minds of voters. Black hair care products popular with non-Black women. And an underground lottery that helped Black Chicago bet on itself.
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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
Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive
Nationally, the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home declined from 78% in 2000 to 68% in 2024, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. The decline has been particularly pronounced among U.S.-born Latinos, as English becomes increasingly dominant across generations.
Read more >Black Voices
New Field Museum Exhibit Showcases Africa’s World of High Fashion
Photography, film and fabrics are used to write the continent’s expansive story, starting chronologically during the liberation period of the mid-20th century up until today.
Read more >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 State University Gears Up for First-Ever Football Game
For Chicago State University, the first game will be about more than football. The university is hoping the new program can help build a new sports identity on Chicago’s South Side.
Read more >
Black Voices
Storm Recovery Continues in Gary, as Thousands Still Without Power
Tuesday will mark two weeks since a derecho swept through Illinois and northwest Indiana, with winds damaging homes, uprooting trees and knocking out power for hundreds of thousands.
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.
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