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.
Read more >Latino Voices
New Book Studies Why Many Latinos Lack Health Insurance
Through extensive personal interviews conducted over three years, a new book takes a deep dive into what keeps Latinos feeling locked out of health care access. It’s called “Uninsured in Chicago: How the Social Safety Net Leaves Latinos Behind.”
Read more >Latino Voices
Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, March 12, 2022 - Full Show
A Latino/Black Voices crossover: what’s behind the response to refugees from Ukraine over other countries? Plus, removing lead pipes in child care facilities. And girls take on science.
Read more >Latino Voices
Examining the World’s Reaction to Ukrainian Refugees: A Voices Crossover Discussion
As Russian forces invade Ukraine, more than 2 million Ukrainians have now fled their homes and sought refuge in neighboring countries —most of them greeted with warmth and generosity. But people fleeing conflict or disaster in other countries have not been welcomed with such open arms in Europe or here in the U.S.
Read more >Latino Voices
Legal Aid Organizations Call on Gov. Pritzker for Increased Funding
The Illinois Access to Justice coalition comprises 67 nonprofit legal aid organizations that offer Illinoisans free legal representation and free training on legal literacy. Now, it’s calling on the state to help with funding to help expand its services.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, February 26, 2022 - Full Show
Students protest racial slurs at a suburban high school. How a Chicago journalist uses her own experience to address trauma. Helping students pay for college. And our Black History Month Spotlight.
Read more >Black Voices
Niles West High School Students Speak Out Against Racist Attacks
Students at Niles West High School in Skokie have led two walkouts in the last two weeks to protest what they call a culture of racism on campus.
Read more >Black Voices
Black Voices Book Club: ‘Hood Healing: Interviews With Some of Chicago's Most Prolific Voices In Media and Black Culture’
Getting to the why is the theme of the book in the latest installment of our Black Voices Book Club Series. “Hood Healing: Interviews With Some of Chicago’s Most Prolific Voices In Media and Black Culture” unpacks the generational trauma Black people experience and how that impacts communities.
Read more >Black Voices
56 Years Later, Program Founded on South Side to Help Students Attend College Still Going Strong
On a mission to make education accessible to everyone, one man started a program that has grown dramatically over the years.
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
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
Advocates Seek Additional $60M in State Funding for Early Childhood Interventions
Early intervention, or EI, comprises an array of developmental and social-emotional services like speech and language, occupational and physical therapies and social work that are designed to improve the long-term outcomes of a child and family’s life.
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.
Read more >