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

Chicago Program Gets Girls Revved Up for STEM Careers

local nonprofit Girls 4 Science is offering a free program called Saturday STEM Academy for girls ages 10 to 18. (Courtesy: Jackie Lomax) In recent years, educators have made extra efforts to encourage children to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Especially girls. To help with this, the local nonprofit Girls 4 Science is offering a free program called Saturday STEM Academy for girls ages 10 to 18. Read more >

Latino Voices

Little Village Mural Depicts Chicago’s Labor Legacy

“Que La Libertad Nos Bese En Los Labios Siempre” is a new mural in Little Village by Yollocalli Arts Reach artists. (WTTW News) A new mural near 30th and Ridgeway in Little Village depicts the figures behind a pivotal moment in Chicago’s labor history: the Haymarket Affair. Read more >

Latino Voices

She Can Do It: La Ultima Palabra on Women in Skilled Trades

Like Rosie the Riveter, ironworker Jennifer Ortiz wants women to know they can do it.  (WTTW News) Like Rosie the Riveter, ironworker Jennifer Ortiz wants women to know they can do it. Here, she gives La Ultima Palabra on how the spark that ignited her career in the trades can work for other women, too. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, March 5, 2022 - Full Show

CBS Chicago’s Marissa Parra guest hosts “Latino Voices.” (WTTW News) As mask mandates are lifted, local doctors on where we go from here. Plus, firsthand accounts from entrepreneurs on how they got started. And La Ultima Palabra on women in trade industries. CBS Chicago’s Marissa Parra guest hosts. Read more >

Black Voices

Black History Month Spotlight: Jackie Ormes, Barrier-Breaking Cartoonist

Cartoonist Jackie Ormes. (Courtesy of Nancy Goldstein) As we close out Black History Month, the last Chicago history maker in our spotlight series is a famous cartoonist. Jackie Ormes broke barriers as the first Black woman cartoonist to be published in a newspaper.  Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, February 19, 2022 - Full Show

(WTTW News) Tensions in Woodlawn over affordable housing near the future Obama Center. How racism in health care influences health behaviors and outcomes. And a tribute to the late designer Virgil Abloh. Read more >

Black Voices

City, Activists Clash Over Woodlawn Housing Plans

(WTTW News) Tensions and frustrations are running high in the Woodlawn neighborhood as residents feel the effects of the incoming Obama Presidential Center.  Read more >

Black Voices

Racism in Health Care Can Impact Treatment Decisions, Study Finds

A new study from Verywell Health has found that Black patients often have a different medical experience than White patients due to discrimination and inequities in health care settings. (Verywell Health) A new study from Verywell Health has found that Black patients often have a different medical experience than White patients due to discrimination and inequities in health care settings.   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

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Oct. 23, 2024 - Full Show

Chicago’s police misconduct agency identified a troubling pattern of traffic stops months before Dexter Reed’s death. And we visit a new brewpub in south suburban Homewood. 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 >