Watch Dave Chappelle Show Up at a Small-Town Meeting to Talk Police Reform (Video)
“We can make our corner of the world outstanding” the comedian said at a Yellow Springs, Ohio city town hall to address police actions on New Year’s Eve
Ross A. Lincoln | March 7, 2017 @ 9:55 PM
Last Updated: March 7, 2017 @ 10:56 PM
Comedian Dave Chappelle was among those who spoke out Monday evening when Yellow Springs, Ohio held a town hall meeting to address lingering concerns about a New Year’s Eve incident in which police tazed two attendees of the city’s official celebration.
Chappelle, who is among the town’s longtime residents, spoke at the meeting to “beseech” the Yellow Springs City Council “to look deeply, and to look hard” at what he called “A golden opportunity.”
Chappelle began his comments in friendly spirits by noting that local police have helped him personally on multiple occasions — but then called the incident a “huge gaffe.” After noting that the story appeared in the New York Times, he pointed out that the paper’s travel editor is someone he went to school with in Yellow Springs, and then recalled the police officers and their families that he personally knew growing up in the community.
“And now we’re being policed by what feels like an alien force,” Chappelle added.
Chappelle attended the New Year’s event, he said, and he told the city council that he left early because “nobody felt completely right… so I am trying to be balanced and fair.”
“I would beseech the council to look deeply, and to look hard, because this is a golden opportunity — literally could kill the game. In this Trump era, it’s an opportunity to show everybody that local politics reigns supreme. We can make our corner of the world outstanding.”
Chappelle was born in Washington, D.C. but, after his father became a professor at Antioch College, spent much of his formative years in Yellow Springs. He returned to the town in the early 2000s and has lived there since.
Dave Chappelle's Road From 'Chappelle's Show' to Hosting 'SNL' (Photos)
Eleven years after he walked away from one of the most successful shows in Comedy Central history, Dave Chappelle is hosting "Saturday Night Live" with the remaining members of A Tribe Called Quest as musical guests. It's a surprising move for the wildly popular but enigmatic comedian, whose career has been marked with long absences, sudden appearances and controversial stand-up performances. Here's a quick timeline...
In 2004, "Chappelle's Show" was one of the most popular shows on basic cable and a huge money-maker for Comedy Central. Chappelle displayed a willingness to plunge into depths of racial satire and N-word usage that few were willing to touch.
Comedy Central
But in 2005, during production of the show's third season, Chappelle shocked the entertainment world by abruptly leaving the show. In an interview with Time Magazine, Chappelle said he had left the show and had flown to South Africa to get away from the overwhelming fame he had built.
In February 2006, Chappelle spoke more in-depth about the show during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. He mentioned that while filming a sketch in which a pixie in blackface tempts him to act in ways that perpetuate stereotypes, a white crew member laughed in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. Chappelle began to wonder if he was reinforcing stereotypes rather than combating them.
In the following years, Chappelle chose to continue his career in comedy to free him from the attention that had unnerved him. His standup appearances were often confined to Los Angeles and went largely unannounced, though he did make several appearances on "Inside The Actors' Studio," including one in which he got the chance to interview the show's host, James Lipton.
In 2013, Chappelle slowly began to return to the limelight, starting with headlining a nationwide comedy tour with Flight of the Conchords. Unfortunately, one show quickly got ugly after hecklers in the crowd began chanting lines from "Chappelle's Show," which resulted in Chappelle ranting about the hecklers the following night at a Chicago show. That audio was later leaked onto a standup comedy blog.
Funny Or Die
Still, Chappelle's return took flight in 2014, as he made the cover of GQ, appeared on "The Late Show With David Letterman," and performed ten sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall.
GQ
Chappelle even made a return to the big screen, playing a minor role in Spike Lee's "Chi-Raq" as a one of the gangbangers who are denied sex by the women of Chicago until the violence stops. Sample line from Chappelle: "This situation is out of control... because I'm in front of an empty stripper pole!"
Spike Lee/Instagram
Now Chappelle is making his biggest TV appearance since his days of playing Rick James and blind black KKK members by hosting the first post-election "SNL" episode. If it is anything like what we've come to expect from him, "SNL" may have some of its most biting material in years in store for us.
NBC
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11 years after walking from his hit Comedy Central show, Dave Chappelle is making a big return to TV
Eleven years after he walked away from one of the most successful shows in Comedy Central history, Dave Chappelle is hosting "Saturday Night Live" with the remaining members of A Tribe Called Quest as musical guests. It's a surprising move for the wildly popular but enigmatic comedian, whose career has been marked with long absences, sudden appearances and controversial stand-up performances. Here's a quick timeline...
Comedy Central
