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.
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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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Pilsen Holiday Window Walk Aims to Boost Business, Support Local Artists
A nonprofit on Chicago’s Lower West Side is getting creative this holiday season. We check out the 2020 Pilsen Christmas Window Walk.
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ProPublica Investigation Shines Light on Immigrant Teens’ Dangerous Night Shifts
A recent investigation finds immigrant teenagers are illegally employed working night shifts in suburban factories. ProPublica reporter Melissa Sanchez joins us with the story.
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Community Unity: Building Bonds Between Black and Latino Chicagoans
This summer, tensions between Black and Latino Chicagoans threatened to explode into violence before activists restored peace, but the incident underlined the sometimes uneasy history between our city’s Black and Latino communities.
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Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Dec. 12, 2020 - Full Show
The uneasy history between Chicago’s Black and Brown communities. Fighting the stigma of food insecurity. The origins of La Guadalupana. And the Latino takeover at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Oct. 4, 2020 - Full Show
Why some Black voters say more Black Americans should support President Trump. Colon cancer screenings in the Black community. And the special way South Shore neighbors are making their voices heard.
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Black Republicans Work to Increase Their Ranks
About 10%-15% of Chicago voters cast their ballots for the GOP. Republicans are even harder to find in the Black community, but they do exist — and they say they’d like to see more Black support for President Donald Trump.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Sept. 27, 2020 - Full Show
Boosting the census response in hard-to-count communities. Black Chicago police officers tell us what the job is like right now. And a visit to a West Side record store that sells a little bit of everything.
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Boosting Chicago’s Stubborn Census Response Rate
Community leaders and elected officials have been making a big push to get the city’s and state’s response rates up.
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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
Remembering the Life and Legacy of a Pioneering Force in Chicago’s Black Theater Scene
The life and legacy of Val Gray Ward, founder of a pioneering Black theater company, was remembered this past weekend.
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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