Let the Little Light Shine

Synopsis

Director: Kevin Shaw
Producers: Rachel Dickson, Kevin Shaw
86min. US. 2022

Chicago 2017: After closing down dozens of public schools, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration sets out to shutter yet another, the top-ranked National Teachers Academy in the South Loop. But mother-professor-activist Elisabeth Greer and members of her community are fighting back. Filmmaker Kevin Shaw (a director on Steve James’ America to Me) was on the ground for the entire riveting David vs. Goliath saga. As the film tracks this passionate group of parents and students rising up for their beloved elementary school, it also reveals the bracing realities of systemic racism and gentrification. “Uplifting, funny, heartwarming, powerful” (Vox) and “propulsive” (Los Angeles Times), Let the Little Light Shine is a “rousing tribute to grassroots activism [with] the visceral impact of all six Rocky movies and a couple of Creed films put together” (Chicago Tribune).