Latino Voices

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 >

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 >

Black Voices

Black Voices

‘Other Washingtons’ Art Installation Aims to Reimagine Who We Choose to Remember

Amanda Williams' new art installation around the George Washington statue in Washington Park features artists, inventors, educators and leaders. (WTTW News) “Other Washingtons” is an art intervention located around the George Washington statue at 51st Street and Martin Luther King Drive that features artists, inventors, educators and other inspirational leaders, all with the last name Washington. Read more >

Black Voices

Take a Look Inside the 1903 Frank Lloyd Wright House a Chicago Nonprofit Is Working to Restore

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House, a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2025. (Eric Allix Rogers) In the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side sits the J.J. Walser House, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1903. A local organization is working to preserve the landmark and transform it into a community asset for generations to come. Read more >

Latino Voices

Local Business Brews Up Revolution by Cutting Out the Coffee Middleman

Anticonquista Café sets up shop at the Lincoln Square Farmers Market on  Oct. 28, 2021. (WTTW News) As the weather starts to turn chillier and the days grayer, many Chicagoans rely on coffee to bring them some daily sunshine. But the people who grow the beans around the world don’t always benefit from the wealth their product creates. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, November 6, 2021 - Full Show

WBEZ’s Michael Puente guest hosts the 54th episode of “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” (WTTW News) The battle over redrawing ward boundaries. Disruptions in global supply chains. Knowing your health care rights. And cutting out the middleman when getting your morning cup of Joe. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, October 30, 2021 - Full Show

Univision’s Alex Hernández hosts the 53rd episode of “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” (WTTW News) What a basic income program could do for low-income families. The latest at the El Milagro plant as workers protest conditions. And we break bread for Dia de los Muertos.  Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Prepares to Take Flight in 2022

(WTTW News) Chicago’s newly approved 2021 budget includes a yearlong basic income pilot for 5,000 Chicago households. We discuss what the city is hoping that money can do to help low-income Chicagoans financially recover from the pandemic. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, October 9, 2021 - Full Show

Brandis Friedman hosts the 50th episode of “Black Voices.” (WTTW News) Why Chicago’s Black population is dwindling. Plus, from wrongfully convicted to defense attorney in our next Book Club pick. Jesse Jackson on his 80th birthday. And more on “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices’” 50th show.  Read more >

Black Voices

How Chicago Can Stem the Tide of Black Population Loss

Since the 1980s, the city that helped shape the country’s first Black president has seen a steady stream of its Black residents flee. (WTTW News) From its founding as a trading post by a Haitian man to the Great Migration to today, Chicago owes much to its Black residents. But since the 1980s, the city that helped shape our country’s first Black president has seen a steady stream of its Black residents flee. Read more >

Black Voices

From Behind Bars to Passing the Bar: Jarrett Adams on ‘Redeeming Justice’

Chicagoan Jarrett Adams was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for nearly 10 years. (Courtesy Penguin Random House) At 17 years old, Jarrett Adams, a Black boy from Chicago, was convicted of raping a woman in Wisconsin. Adams spent 10 years of his life in prison for a rape he maintained he did not commit. He spent those years studying the legal system to overturn his own case —eventually, becoming a lawyer himself. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Artist Edo Brings Brilliance to Mural of White Sox’s Tim Anderson

Just like Tim Anderson’s exuberant style of play, Edo’s bright, boisterous style of art draws people in. (WTTW News) No matter what form it takes, there is no mistaking the work of Chicago artist Edo. His wildly vibrant painting of fan favorite Tim Anderson is one of three pieces commissioned by the White Sox as part of their Game Changers series. The series throws a spotlight on the contributions of under-represented communities. 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

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

Illinois Doesn’t Have Parole. A Group of Incarcerated Men is Working to Change That

The nonprofit Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project conducts a class at Stateville Correctional Center. (WTTW News) Parole Illinois was formed by men who are incarcerated in Illinois prisons. They’re working to reinstate the parole system after it was abolished in the state in 1978. 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 >

Black Voices

Take a Look Inside the 1903 Frank Lloyd Wright House a Chicago Nonprofit Is Working to Restore

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House, a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2025. (Eric Allix Rogers) In the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side sits the J.J. Walser House, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1903. A local organization is working to preserve the landmark and transform it into a community asset for generations to come. Read more >

 

Black Voices

Free Boxing Club Empowers West Side Youth: ‘They Feel the Confidence’

(WTTW News) Roy Flowers started his boxing club in 2021 in the hopes of creating healthy, supportive spaces for the youth in his community. “I just wanted to be the mentor that I wish I had.” Read more >

Latino Voices

‘Like Lightning Struck’: Community Marks 60 Years Since the First Division Street Riot, Puerto Rican Rebellion

(Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum) While events for the community are planned for the entire weekend to celebrate Puerto Rican pride and culture, this year also honors the history of Chicago’s Boricua community — marking the 60-year anniversary of the first Division Street riot. Read more >