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.
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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.
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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.
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DACA Holders See Delays in the Renewal of their Status
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has given immigrants who were brought here as youth an opportunity to work and study in the U.S. lawfully. But recently, DACA recipients have been reporting longer delays in the renewal of their status, putting many of their employment eligibility at risk.
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What Coming Out Day Means to Latino LGBTQ Leaders
Monday marks National Coming Out Day— an annual awareness day aimed at supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. What do that awareness and support mean for leaders in the Latino LGBTQ community? We hear from Julio Rodriguez of ALMA and David Ernesto Munar from Howard Brown Health.
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Muralist Asend Blends Latinidad, Baseball Love in Portrait of White Sox’s Jose Abreu
In a mural by Chicago artist Asend, a larger-than-life Jose Abreu swings his mighty bat under the Cienfuegos streetlights of his childhood. Asend’s dreamlike rendering is one of three murals commissioned by the White Sox as part of their Game Changers series.
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Workers, Labor Organizations Speak Out Against El Milagro Tortilla Plant at Rally
Worker walkouts amid calls for improved conditions continue at the El Milagro tortilla plant in Little Village. We get an update on the situation from Jorge Mújica, a strategic organizer for the community labor advocate organization Arise Chicago.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, September 12, 2021 - Full Show
Maternal health outcomes for Black women as a Texas law bans nearly all abortions in that state. Plus, a deeply personal book about three girls growing up in Bronzeville. And microgrants for students.
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Caring for Black Mothers: Addressing Racial Disparities in Maternal Health Care
As a Texas law that bans nearly all abortions in that state goes into effect, we take a look at what reproductive health care means for Black women.
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Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, September 5, 2021 - Full Show
The debate over police in schools as students return to the classroom. The remake of the ‘90s horror classic, “Candyman.” And a Bronzeville incubator helping young businesses think inside the box.
Read more >Black Voices
Entrepreneurs Think Outside the Box by Setting Up Shop in Shipping Containers
Most shipping containers are packed with consumer goods, but the brightly painted shipping containers in Boxville at the corner of 51st Street and Calumet Avenue are packed full of small businesses with big ambitions.
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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
As Stateville Prison Nears Closure, Advocates Raise Concerns About Long-Lasting Impacts on Workers and Incarcerated Men
Advocates are raising concerns about the location of these facilities and the impact they will have on both those behind the prison’s walls and its employees.
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.
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