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 Tonight: Latino Voices, April 17, 2021 - Full Show

The community response to video of the fatal police shooting of Adam Toledo. A look at the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause. And spicing up Chicago with family business La Criolla.  Read more >

Latino Voices

Providers Combat Vaccine Hesitancy After Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause

(WTTW News) Health officials recommended a pause on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this week after six people experienced rare but severe blood clots. We discuss the situation—and concerns about vaccine hesitancy—with Dr. Juanita Mora, an allergist and immunologist at the Chicago Allergy Center. Read more >

Latino Voices

Little Village Mourns Toledo, Calls for Unity and Empathy

A mural near a memorial for Adam Toledo. (WTTW News) For the past two weeks, Chicago residents have been reacting to the death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo at the hands of a Chicago police officer. Now, video footage of the shooting is raising more questions about the incident. We discuss the March 29 shooting with Little Village community members. Read more >

Latino Voices

Since 1957, La Criolla Has Brought Latin Flavor to Chicago

Maria and Jose Chaparro took over La Criolla Foods at its original location in the West Loop in 2016. (WTTW News) When Avelino Maldonado started his spice distribution company in Chicago, the biggest waves of Latino immigrants had yet to arrive. Sixty-four years later, Latinos comprise nearly 30% of the city’s population, and La Criolla’s new owners hope to bring their Latin flavor to another generation of cooks. Read more >

Black Voices

The Last Word: Jermaine Anderson

Jermaine Anderson (WTTW News) The founder of a nonprofit that mentors young men in the Chicago area tells us what it means to be a gentleman. Read more >

Black Voices

‘Our People’ 1968 Interview: Godfrey Cambridge

A still image from video shows an interview with Godfrey Cambridge on “Our People.” (WTTW) The comedian and actor known for his sardonic take on culture and society shares his thoughts on policing and crime in Chicago in this interview with Jim Tilmon from the WTTW show “Our People.” Read more >

Black Voices

New Book ‘Halfway Home’ Explores Life After Incarceration

Stateville Correctional Center (WTTW News) In Illinois there are more than 1,400 laws regulating the lives of people who are formerly incarcerated. A new book by Reuben Jonathan Miller examines these laws and how they affect the lives of people with felonies once they are out of prison. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Jan. 31, 2021 - Full Show

The presidents of the National Urban League and the Chicago Urban League on racial equity. We travel the “U.S. Civil Rights Trail” in our book club. Remembering Bessie Coleman, the original fly girl. 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, July 3, 2024 - Full Show

Mounting concerns over age in the race for president. An energy revolution in Bronzeville is paving the way to a sustainable future. And south suburban mayors push back on soaring property taxes. 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 >