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.
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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.
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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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Applications Now Open for Cook County Guaranteed Income Pilot
The guaranteed income pilot program, known as Cook County Promise, began accepting applications this week. Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the program will pay 3,250 residents of Cook County $500 a month for two years.
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Learn to Make Calaveras, the Decorated Sugar Skulls for Dia de los Muertos, in Little Village on Oct. 15-16
Through the month of October, a series of events called “Journey Chicago” is taking place at cultural heritage centers across the city and suburbs.
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Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Oct. 1, 2022 - Full Show
The push for affordable housing in Chicago. Plus, the impact of pharmacy deserts. The landscapes and people of Puerto Rico in a new exhibit. And libraries going beyond just offering books.
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Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Sept. 24, 2022 - Full Show
Breaking down what’s behind the mass exodus from City Hall in a special Voices crossover. Local relief efforts for Puerto Rico. And meet a duo of singing sisters from the South Side.
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POP! Heights Park Marks First New Public Park in Roseland in More Than 50 Years
The amenities were created with the goal to ensure the park is utilized by all ages, especially those residing in Roseland, Morgan Park and West Pullman.
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Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Oct. 29, 2022 - Full Show
HIV rates in Chicago reach historic lows — but disparities persist. What do Rihanna, Jesse Jackson and RuPaul have in common? They’re all in the next season of the Making podcast. Plus, a new park in Roseland.
Read more >Black Voices
Month-Long Black Harvest Film Festival at Siskel Film Center Nov. 4-27
The annual Black Harvest Film Festival kicks off its 28th year of celebrating Black filmmaking on Nov. 4, with a schedule packed with screenings of independent feature films, screenings of anniversary and restored films, and special events.
Read more >Black Voices
New Season of WBEZ Podcast Series ‘Making’ Explores Rise of Black Icons
The podcast’s latest season offers the same level of legends’ stories but in a new format. This season, each weekly episode covers the “making” years of a different figure via interviews with three people who had personal or professional relationships with the subject.
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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
Were You Ever Told to Avoid the South or West Sides? New Book Shares Stories of Disrupting Segregation
Artist and photographer Tonika Lewis Johnson and sociologist Maria Krysan compiled Chicagoans’ stories in their new book. The goal was to better understand what can happen when people explore often ignored parts of the city.
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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