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.
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Back to School: CPS Interim CEO, City Health Official on Plans to Return to In-Person Learning
Students and teachers at Chicago Public Schools head back to the classroom this month. We speak with the district’s interim CEO and an official from the health department about returning to school as COVID-19 cases rise.
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Concert Collaboration Builds Musical Bridge ‘From San Juan to Chicago’
“Un Puente Musical” weaves the Chicago Philharmonic’s chamber orchestra with the instruments, musicians and composers of La Isla del Encanto.
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Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, August 7, 2021 - Full Show
Efforts to make transit accessible across communities. A controversial new Target warehouse. And does the city make the cut in clearing weeds from vacant lots?
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Communities and City Collaborate for Safer, More Accessible Transportation
The city’s transportation department has been installing a new grid of bike routes in Belmont Cragin and Hermosa as part of the Chicago Works Capital Plan to modernize infrastructure and improve access to and safety of transportation.
Read more >Black Voices
The Last Word: Rashod Johnson
The CEO of local engineering firm Ardmore Roderick tells us what he thinks the city should do to help Chicago’s small businesses.
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Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Experience Resonates with Black Academics
In the wake of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist’s decision to reject a tenure offer from the University of North Carolina, we talk with local scholars about their experiences in higher education as Black women.
Read more >Black Voices
Red, White, Blue and Black: What Patriotism Means to Black America
This Fourth of July holiday we look at a word that has had different meanings for different Americans: patriotism, and what it means to some members of the Black community.
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Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, July 4, 2021 - Full Show
On this Fourth of July, what Independence Day means in the Black community. The city’s new monument to activist Ida B. Wells. Meet the new head of the Lincoln Museum. And ladies who sing the blues.
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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
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Aug. 7, 2024 - Full Show
Why Black Lives Matter is not endorsing Kamala Harris for president. A new state law aims to lower mortality rates for mothers and their newborns. And a community space opens in Bronzeville.
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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