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.
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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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For 35 Years, a Chicago Family Has Fostered Community at Apollo’s 2000 Theater in Little Village. Now the Century-Old Venue is a City Landmark
Javier Galindo and Lidia Galindo Corral have welcomed artists from all over the world to the Apollo’s 2000 Theater in Little Village for nearly 35 years. The building is now being designated a Chicago landmark.
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‘I Really Want to Represent My People’: Latino Entrepreneurs Opening Businesses Twice as Much as General Population
Latinos are starting businesses at over twice the rate of the general U.S. population. But getting there as a first-time business owner comes with its own set of challenges.
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Lawmakers Greenlight State-Level Child Tax Credit in Illinois Budget, Pending Pritzker’s Approval
For low- and middle-class families feeling the pressures from the rising costs of living, the passing of a state-level child tax credit is a “big win,” said Ameya Pawar, a senior advisor at Economic Security Project and former alderperson of Chicago's 47th Ward.
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Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, May 30, 2024 - Full Show
A historic Little Village Theater gets landmark status. A child tax credit passes as part of Illinois’ new budget. And meet a group of Latinos embracing the entrepreneurial spirit.
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New ‘Chicago Stories’ Documentary Explores the Mourning, Destruction That Followed Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination
In 1966, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Chicago’s West Side to protest against discriminatory housing practices. The neighborhood went into an uproar following his assassination in 1968, resulting in numerous riots and looting. “When the West Side Burned” outlines the destruction and struggle to recover.
Read more >Black Voices
United Nations Calls Out ‘Racialized Police Violence’ in Chicago
United Nations human rights investigators said in a statement: “These heinous alleged human rights violations appear to a significant extent to be rooted in systemic racism and have disproportionately affected people of African and Latin American descent.”
Read more >Black Voices
As Climate Change Impacts Weather, Project Aims to Reduce Flooding in Chatham Neighborhood
The South Side community experiences a large amount of flooding made greater than its counterparts on the North Side because of a lack of preventative infrastructure, which can cause significant damage to homes and businesses.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Oct. 16, 2024 - Full Show
The battle over Chicago Public Schools — CEO Pedro Martinez joins us to respond to critics. And a City Council meeting sees alderpeople fired up over CPS and ShotSpotter.
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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
Weiss Hospital Owner Appeals Medicaid Funding Cuts as Activists Push for Facility’s Reopening
Lawmakers said the owner of Weiss Memorial Hospital filed to appeal Medicaid funding cuts that led to the hospital’s closure last month.
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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