Latino Voices

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 >

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 >

Black Voices

Black Voices

‘Other Washingtons’ Art Installation Aims to Reimagine Who We Choose to Remember

Amanda Williams' new art installation around the George Washington statue in Washington Park features artists, inventors, educators and leaders. (WTTW News) “Other Washingtons” is an art intervention located around the George Washington statue at 51st Street and Martin Luther King Drive that features artists, inventors, educators and other inspirational leaders, all with the last name Washington. Read more >

Black Voices

Take a Look Inside the 1903 Frank Lloyd Wright House a Chicago Nonprofit Is Working to Restore

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House, a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2025. (Eric Allix Rogers) In the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side sits the J.J. Walser House, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1903. A local organization is working to preserve the landmark and transform it into a community asset for generations to come. Read more >

Latino Voices

Members of Congress at Odds Over Homeland Security Reform as Funding Deadline Looms

(memoriesarecaptured / iStock) Lawmakers continue to negotiate U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding, which Democrats are holding up over proposed reforms to immigration enforcement efforts. Read more >

Latino Voices

As Bad Bunny Prepares for the Super Bowl, Puerto Ricans Celebrate His Music and Message

Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performer Bad Bunny smiles during a news conference, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in San Francisco ahead of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. (AP Photo / Godofredo A. Vásquez) Global music icon Bad Bunny is set to take the stage this Sunday for a Super Bowl halftime performance. Many Puerto Ricans see his performance as a culturally important one. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Man With Epilepsy Who Fled Venezuela With Family Released From ICE Custody

Albeiro Ropero Remolina hugs his wife after he was released from ICE custody. (Provided photo) After nearly a month spent in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, a Chicago father of three with epilepsy has been reunited with his family. Read more >

Latino Voices

Alderpeople Say COPA Should Investigate Chicago Police Conduct During Immigration Raids, Protests

Alds. Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward) and Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) appear on “Chicago Tonight” on Feb. 2, 2026. (WTTW News) The Chicago City Council will vote Feb. 18 on a proposal that would allow the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to investigate whether CPD officers have violated city law by helping federal immigration agents. Read more >

Black Voices

Yusef Jackson on His Father’s Legacy, Bringing the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Into the Future

Yusef Jackson appears on “Chicago Tonight” on April 14, 2026. (WTTW News) The organization the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. made into a national force for economic and racial justice has new leadership: the reverend’s youngest son, Yusef Jackson, who was unanimously chosen by the Rainbow PUSH board. Read more >

Black Voices

Free Doula Program Seeks to Address Health Disparities for South Side Mothers

The South Side Healthy Community Organization and the Chicago Birthworks Collective are partnering to provide free doula services to South Side mothers who are uninsured or on Medicaid. (WTTW News) The South Side Healthy Community Organization and the Chicago Birthworks Collective are partnering to provide free doula services to South Side mothers who are uninsured or on Medicaid. Read more >

Black Voices

Up For 16 Oscars, ‘Sinners’ Sparks Conversation on Chicago Blues History and Its Future

Blues musician Billy Branch performs. (Provided) While the blues may be having a mainstream moment, the Chicago blues community has long been dedicated to the art form’s preservation, history and future. Read more >

Black Voices

Illinois Author Has Spent Decades Detailing Underground Railroad History: ‘You’re Never Unqualified to Be Courageous’

Glennette Tilley Turner has spent decades researching and preserving the stories of Harriet Tubman and the freedom seekers. (WTTW News) At 92 years old, Glennette Tilley Turner is still telling the stories that shaped her life. The author has spent decades researching and preserving the stories of Harriet Tubman and the freedom seekers. 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

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

Survivors of Chicago Police Torture Hold Groundbreaking Ceremony for South Side Memorial

Chicago police torture survivor Stanley John Howard, right, shakes hands with Mayor Brandon Johnson, left, during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial at 5520 S. King Drive in Washington Park on July 8, 2026. (Victor Hilitski / WTTW News) The memorial aims to honor the more than 125 Black men, women and children who were tortured by disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, and the officers under his command, on Chicago’s South Side from the 1970s to 1990s. 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 >

Black Voices

Take a Look Inside the 1903 Frank Lloyd Wright House a Chicago Nonprofit Is Working to Restore

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House, a Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2025. (Eric Allix Rogers) In the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side sits the J.J. Walser House, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1903. A local organization is working to preserve the landmark and transform it into a community asset for generations to come. Read more >

 

Black Voices

Free Boxing Club Empowers West Side Youth: ‘They Feel the Confidence’

(WTTW News) Roy Flowers started his boxing club in 2021 in the hopes of creating healthy, supportive spaces for the youth in his community. “I just wanted to be the mentor that I wish I had.” Read more >

Latino Voices

‘Like Lightning Struck’: Community Marks 60 Years Since the First Division Street Riot, Puerto Rican Rebellion

(Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum) While events for the community are planned for the entire weekend to celebrate Puerto Rican pride and culture, this year also honors the history of Chicago’s Boricua community — marking the 60-year anniversary of the first Division Street riot. Read more >