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

Thousands of Immigrants in Illinois May Lose Their Health Care as Advocates Call for More Funding

File photo of person in a medical setting. (WTTW News) The programs rolled out during the pandemic, providing benefits for immigrant adults and seniors. They offered health coverage for low-income individuals who did not qualify for Medicaid because of their immigration status. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, May 23, 2024 - Full Show

School funding and a crackdown on THC — the latest from Springfield. And ahead of Memorial Day weekend, we hear stories from Latinos who served in the military. Read more >

Latino Voices

Sueños Music Festival Returns to Grant Park Over Memorial Day Weekend for 2 Days of Latin Music and Culture

(Credit: Sueños Music Festival) And for the third consecutive year at Grant Park’s Hutchinson Field, the Sueños Music Festival is set to celebrate reggaeton and Latin music artists during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, May 16, 2024 - Full Show

What’s behind the city’s joblessness rates among Black and Latino youth. Meet the powerful women of an ancient Mexican civilization. And Sueños Music Festival returns. Read more >

Black Voices

Advocates on the Need to Improve Mental Health Care Access on the South, West Sides

(WTTW News) Chicago will no longer have members of the police and fire departments on its mental health emergency response teams. The Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program is moving to a new staffing model — with all public health workers. Read more >

Black Voices

Author Digs Deep Into ‘Hidden History’ of Black Civil Rights in ‘Before the Movement’

Scholar and author Dylan Penningroth. (Provided) African Americans were fighting for their rights through common law long before what many people know conventionally as the Civil Rights Movement. That’s the conclusion award-winning scholar and author Dylan Penningroth came to in his book “Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights.” Read more >

Black Voices

Trolley Tours Connect Austin Residents to West Side Farms, Healthy Food

A local nonprofit hosts Austin Farm-to-Table Trolley Tours where neighbors visit community gardens, learn about health and wellness and see a cooking demonstration with a professional chef. The predominantly Black neighborhood of 96,000 is considered a food desert. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Artist Pays Tribute to House Music Legend in Uptown Mural

Max Sansing works on a mural paying homage to house music legend Frankie Knuckles. (WTTW News) A new mural is set to be unveiled at the Chicago Public Library’s Uptown Branch across the street from the now closed Gherkin Records. 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

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Sept. 10, 2025 - Full Show

Brandis Friedman hosts the Sept. 10, 2025, episode of "Chicago Tonight: Black Voices." (WTTW News) The latest on conservative activist and Chicago-area native Charlie Kirk, who was shot at an event in Utah. And how people who are homeless could be impacted if the National Guard is deployed in Chicago. 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 >