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.
Read more >Latino Voices
Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, April 10, 2021 - Full Show
Calls to reform the police department’s foot pursuit policy. Community organizers lead the charge in getting Latinos vaccinated. A Pilsen mural highlights neighborhood residents. And La Última Palabra.
Read more >Latino Voices
Little Village Community Leaders Say They Want More Than a Foot Pursuit Policy
The Little Village Community Council wants to meet with Mayor Lori Lightfoot about policing policy changes. They also want to meet with the police department about the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.
Read more >Latino Voices
Community Organizers Lead the Charge to Get Residents Vaccinated
In neighborhoods like La Villita and Back of the Yards, outreach workers are taking a ground-up approach to registering residents for vaccinations by meeting them in grocery stores and taquerias, and through texts and social media.
Read more >Latino Voices
La Ultima Palabra: Ana Hernandez
Why women should take their ideas and aspirations off the back burner.
Read more >Black Voices
New Book ‘US Civil Rights Trail’ A Journey Through Time
Author and journalist Deborah Douglas said that traveling the civil rights trail is an emotional experience, but one that is worth having in person. “I gained a greater appreciation for the African American experience and what my elders were able to accomplish,” she said.
Read more >Black Voices
What Will Social Justice, Racial Equity Look Like Under President Biden?
The Biden administration has released its racial equity agenda. We talk with the leaders of the National Urban League and its Chicago affiliate about their hopes for the next four years.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Jan. 24, 2021 - Full Show
Looking back at this week’s historic inauguration with local journalists. Remembering civil rights icon Ida B. Wells, with her great-granddaughter. And honoring another pioneer, the late Jim Tilmon.
Read more >Black Voices
‘Ida B. the Queen’: New Book Examines Legacy of Trailblazing Journalist
We kick off the first installment of our Black Voices Book Club series with a new biography on a Black woman whose legend looms large in Chicago. And it’s written by Michelle Duster, her great-granddaughter.
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
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
Bronzeville Community Microgrid Charts a Path to a Green Energy Future
In Chicago’s historic Bronzeville community, a project that could ultimately lead to the transformation of our energy infrastructure is quietly taking shape. It’s a collaboration between the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Chicago Housing Authority and ComEd.
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.
Read more >