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

Win a Free Mural for Your Community from Green Arts Movement

(WTTW News) Local youth arts organization Green Star Movement has installed murals all over the city. This year, in partnership with Amazon, Green Star is inviting Chicagoans to apply for a chance at getting a free mural created in their community. Read more >

Latino Voices

New Law for 2022 Requires Contracts for Home Workers

The Chicago Domestic Workers Contract Mandate covers jobs like nannies, home care workers, and home cleaners. It requires their employers to give them a written contract with mutually agreed-upon terms. (WTTW News) The Chicago Domestic Workers Contract Mandate covers jobs like nannies, home care workers, and home cleaners. It requires their employers to give them a written contract with mutually agreed-upon terms. Read more >

Latino Voices

East Side Man Starts Small Business Using Tuft Love

Juan Lopez says he can make pretty much any 2-D image into a fuzzy, fluffy floor covering. (WTTW News) In the early days of the pandemic, many Chicagoans used social media to learn new skills and hobbies. One of them is Juan Lopez, a lifelong East Sider who used TikTok videos to teach himself a new skill that he turned into a small business last summer. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, January 8, 2022 - Full Show

(WTTW News) The standoff between CPS and the teachers union leaves parents in the lurch. Plus, contracts for domestic workers. And meet a local man turning his pandemic hobby into a business.  Read more >

Black Voices

The Last Word on Serving Others

Pamela McKenzie shares how she and her family are keeping a legacy alive. (WTTW News) As we celebrate the holidays, many people in need come to rely on local food banks. One food pantry in West Englewood has been around for more than 20 years.  It was started by Samella McKenzie who passed away last year. One of her final wishes was for her 10 children to continue her work and serve people. Read more >

Black Voices

Emmett Till Investigation Closed by Justice Department

This undated photo shows Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year-old black Chicago boy, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 1955 after he allegedly whistled at a white woman in Mississippi. (AP Photo, File) Two white men, Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, were tried on murder charges about a month after Emmett Till was killed, but an all-white Mississippi jury acquitted them.  Read more >

Black Voices

Black Developers on City’s Investment in Affordable Housing

The northwest corner of 115th and Halsted streets sits at the intersection of West Pullman, East Morgan Park and West Roseland. Local leaders are working to redevelop the massive site into a mixed-use, community-driven project. (Courtesy Far South Community Development) Chicago will invest a billion dollars into the creation and preservation of 24 development projects, as a result of federal pandemic recovery money and the Mayor’s 2022 budget. The move not only aims to bring more affordable housing to the city but also looks to support developments led by people of color. Read more >

Black Voices

New Book ‘Game Misconduct’ Examines Hockey Culture

Sexual assault in hockey is just one topic explored in a new book titled “Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It.” Sexual assault in hockey is just one topic explored in “Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It.”  It was written by Chicago author Evan Moore, who is now the press secretary for Chicago Public Schools. 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

Trolley Tours Connect Austin Residents to West Side Farms, Healthy Food

A local nonprofit hosts Austin Farm-to-Table Trolley Tours where neighbors visit community gardens, learn about health and wellness and see a cooking demonstration with a professional chef. The predominantly Black neighborhood of 96,000 is considered a food desert. 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 >