A young woman fights for peace among the street gangs of Chicago in Chi-Raq. In the south side of Chicago, a violent gang war is in progress between the Spartans lead by Demetrius “Chi-raq” Dupree (Nick Cannon) and the Trojans lead by Sean “Cyclops” Andrews (Wesley Snipes), with tensions reaching their peak when the 11 year old daughter of Irene (Jennifer Hudson) is gunned down in the street. Encouraged on by Helen Worthy (Angela Bassett), Chi-raq's girlfriend Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris) decides to take matters into her own hands and organizes a “sex strike,” where the woman withhold their bodies, until the gangs can agree to piece.
For his latest joint, director Spike Lee takes the Classical Greek play Lysistrata and adapts it into a modern satire about the gang wars in Chicago. With the violence and death in Chicago rivaling the war in the middle east, many have come to nickname the city “Chi-Raq,” merging Chicago with Iraq. Chi-Raq is also the stage name used by rapper and gang leader Demetrius Dupree, who is at the centre of this gang war that is terrorizing the streets in this south Chicago neighbourhood. Only the efforts of Lysistrata can hope to end this bloodshed once and for all.