Latino Voices

Latino Voices

Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive

(WTTW News) 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

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

Black Voices

Smithsonian Head Lonnie Bunch on Preserving History, Retirement and Trump Administration Threats

FILE - Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks at an event, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo / Allison Robbert, File) 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

The Chicago State University football team at practice. (WTTW News) 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, Sept. 8, 2023 - Full Show

A community-run shelter for migrants closes its doors. Getting more Latinos in STEM. And the migrant experience from the point of view of a child. Read more >

Latino Voices

Venezuelan Asylum Seeker Designs Logo to Help Raise Funds for Group Aiding Migrants

Asylum seeker and graphic artist Winter Navas designed this logo to help raise funds for migrant care. (WTTW News) For the many volunteers helping migrants living at Chicago police stations, raising funds is essential. One group teamed up with a Venezuelan migrant to design the logo on merchandise being sold to raise money for food, clothes and medicine for asylum seekers. Read more >

Latino Voices

As Migrants Continue to Arrive in Chicago, Officials Call for Collaboration Across Levels of Government

Migrants outside a Chicago police station. (WTTW News) This week marks one year since the first bus of asylum seekers was sent to Chicago from the southern border. More than 13,500 migrants have arrived in the city to date. Read more >

Latino Voices

One ‘Whirlwind’ Year In, Community Groups Assisting Migrants Say There’s Much More Work Ahead

People at Grace and Peace Community Church have stepped up to help migrants. (WTTW News) From the moment the first bus of migrants arrived in Chicago a year ago, much of the ongoing work of supporting migrants has been done by volunteers, mutual aid groups and community organizers who swung into action. Read more >

Black Voices

Food Insecurity is on the Rise Again. How Chicagoans Are Helping Meet the Need Ahead of the Holidays

File photo of food pantry shelves. (WTTW News) According to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, one in five households in the Chicago area is facing food insecurity. A national report found that 17 million households were food insecure at some point in 2022. Read more >

Black Voices

MLB All-Star Inspires Next Generation of Players at Chicago Academy

Curtis “The Grandyman” Granderson works with kids at the Chicago Baseball and Educational Academy. (WTTW News) Curtis “The Grandyman” Granderson spent 16 seasons playing Major League Baseball. Now he’s passing down those years of experience to the next generation of players and inspiring them to pursue college. Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Nov. 1, 2023 - Full Show

City Council blocks a vote to transform a vacant lot into a migrant shelter. Why it takes so long for wrongfully convicted people to get legal representation. And Cook County’s state’s attorney on the elimination of cash bail. Read more >

Black Voices

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on the First Month Without Cash Bail

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx appears on “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” on Nov. 1, 2023. (WTTW News) It’s been more than a month since Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail entirely. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said her office was preparing for almost 18 months before the Pretrial Fairness Act went into effect. 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

(WTTW News) 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

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, May 28, 2025 - Full Show

Brandis Friedman hosts the May 28, 2025, episode of "Chicago Tonight: Black Voices." (WTTW News) Lawmakers still figuring out how to fill the state’s budget gap. A new opera on lesser-known Black heroes. And journalist Jonathan Capehart has a new memoir. Read more >

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 State University Gears Up for First-Ever Football Game

The Chicago State University football team at practice. (WTTW News) 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

The city of Gary, Ind., is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News) 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

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 >