Latino Voices

Latino Voices

Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive

(WTTW News) 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

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

Black Voices

Smithsonian Head Lonnie Bunch on Preserving History, Retirement and Trump Administration Threats

FILE - Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks at an event, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo / Allison Robbert, File) 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

The Chicago State University football team at practice. (WTTW News) 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 >

Latino Voices

Luis Gutierrez, Sen. Dick Durbin Form Organization to Modernize Immigration

Former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez speaks about the launch of Our Nation’s Future at the Union League Club of Chicago, Friday June 17, 2022. (WTTW News) Former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Senator Dick Durbin announced the formation of a new immigration reform organization called “Our Nation’s Future.”  Read more >

Latino Voices

Get Dad to the Doc: Improving the Health of Latino Men

(Nathan Dumlao / Unsplash) This weekend, many Latinos will come together to celebrate the men who hold a cherished place in their families. It may be a good opportunity to give them a nudge to see their doctor.  Read more >

Latino Voices

Minimum Wage Boost, Fair Workweek Enhancements Take Effect July 1

On July 1st, a scheduled increase to Chicago’s minimum wage and enhancements to the fair workweek ordinance take effect. (WTTW News) Some changes are coming soon for Chicago’s workers. July 1, a scheduled increase to the minimum wage takes effect, as well as enhancements to the Fair Workweek Ordinance. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chilean Musicians Pascuala Ilabaca y Fauna Come to Chicago

(Courtesy Pascuala Ilabaca) Composer, singer, accordionist and pianist Pascuala Ilabaca and her band Fauna are playing in Chicago for the first time next week. The band’s music blends traditional instruments and rhythms with lyrics reflecting a feminist perspective. Read more >

Black Voices

Advocates Celebrate Juneteenth Holiday While Looking Toward Reform and Reparations

The Juneteenth flag, created by Ben Haith in 1997. Haith is the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation. (WTTW News) After years of advocating and campaigning, Juneteenth is being recognized as a federal, state and local holiday for the first time this year. The day recognizes June 19, 1865, that's when the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, June 11, 2022 - Full Show

(WTTW News) Voter outreach efforts as Election Day approaches for the primary. Plus, raising awareness for missing women. Calls for safer prisons. And from the crowd to the stage, meet blues artist: Melody Angel. Read more >

Black Voices

Cook County to Host Juneteenth Conference: ‘It’s All About the Black Community, Celebrating our Freedom’

The Cook County Juneteenth Planning Committee. (Credit: Norvell's Photography) Juneteenth will be recognized as a federal, state and local holiday for the first time this year. The day recognizes the freeing of the last enslaved people in Texas, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865.  Read more >

Black Voices

Activists to Hold Walk for Missing and Murdered Chicago Women

(Credit: We Walk for Her) Several organizations are teaming up for the fifth annual We Walk for Her event. Organizers say they hope the walk brings a sense of urgency to the dozens of cold cases and disappearances. 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

Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive

(WTTW News) 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

Some South Chicago Residents Are Raising Concerns About New Quantum Computing Development

A rendering of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park proposed for the Southeast Side. (Credit: Lamar Johnson Collaborative) The plan is to transform the former U.S. Steel South Works site into the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. Officials are calling the campus “history-altering,” but some neighbors want the process to slow down and are raising environmental and displacement concerns. Read more >

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

Chicago State University Gears Up for First-Ever Football Game

The Chicago State University football team at practice. (WTTW News) 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

The city of Gary, Ind., is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News) 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

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 >