Let the Little Light Shine 2021
Distributed by Collective Eye Films, 1315 SE 20th Ave. #3, Portland OR 97214; 971-236-2056
Produced by Kevin Shaw and Rachel Dickson
Directed by Kevin Shaw
Streaming, 86 mins
Middle School - General Adult
Activism; African Americans; Education
Date Entered: 04/28/2023
Reviewed by Monique Threatt, Indiana University, Herman B Wells Library, Bloomington, IN“In 2013, 49 elementary schools were closed in Chicago. The largest mass school closing in America…the majority of those closings occurred in Black and Latinx communities.”
This engaging documentary feature film focuses on the long judicial fight to prevent the gentrification of a Chicago top-ranked African American elementary school from being transformed into a larger and wealthier high school. The film achieves to provide a balanced point-of-view from administrators, teachers, parents, and students affected by Illinois’s property tax education system.
Camaraderie, perseverance, respect, and a quest to save the National Teachers Academy (NTA) is at the core of this film. The film sheds light on the history and achievements of predominate Black students enrolled at NTA. The conflict arises when the Chicago Public School (CPS), at the instigation of politically motivated and entitled white parents, introduce the idea to convert the “underperforming” [their opinion] NTA into a high school. This action serves to create a negative impact to disperse the current K-8 NTA students. During the battle to take control of NTA, CPS dismisses the constant and numerous protests from the NTA community. CPS even rejects celebrity guest speaker Chance the Rapper an opportunity to speak on NTA’s behalf.
Plentiful instances are documented to highlight bullying the NTA’s principal by demanding ultimatums behind thinly veiled threats. Eventually the community of South Loop take their lawsuit to the courts with a list of documentation showing the illegal practices, racial discrimination, and other cruel tricks imposed by CPS in their attempts to shut down NTA. The impact of this film is not lost on the ever-present role that classism and racism plays in the education system, and how it affects predominantly low-income black and brown communities. Through litigation, NTA is victorious in its stance against political pressure. Of note is the original music score by Kahil l’Zabar.
I highly recommend this film for African American and Education studies.
Awards:Peabody Award Nomination; Official Selection of the 2022 True/False Film Fest, 2022 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
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