>> Dave Chappelle hosts impromptu comedy events in Yellow Springs — with more to come
The title 8:46 relates back to the amount of time that George Floyd had a police officer kneeling on his neck, resulting in his public death. The special shares Chappelle’s commentary on Floyd’s death, his admiration for young protesters, Black Lives Matter, political commentator Candace Owens, LeBron James, among other current events.
>> Allison Janney’s tweet puts Dayton nonprofit run by teens in spotlight
“I don’t mean to get heavy but we got to say something,” said Chappelle, who added that America is enduring “the wrath of God” for a string of police assaults on black men.
↓WATCH BELOW: Video contains language that may be considered offensive by some viewers
"This man kneeled on a man's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Can you imagine that?!" Chappelle says during the clip. "This kid thought he was going to die, he knew he was going to die. He called for his dead mother."
“When I watched that tape, I understood this man knew he was going to die,” said the comedian. “I can't tell you, as a man, watching another man, go through something like that, what it makes you feel like.”
Chappelle said 8:46 also was the time he was born on Aug. 24, 1973. “I can’t get that number out of my head because it was my time of birth on my birth certificate,” he said.
>> Demonstrators gather in Yellow Springs to protest death of George Floyd
Chappelle added that he has been quiet until now for a reason. “Answer me: Do you want to see a celebrity right now?” he asked. “No, this is the streets talking for themselves. They don’t need me right now.”
The special has been released with a note from Dave: "Normally, I wouldn't show you something so unrefined, I hope you understand." The simple statement was followed by information about how people can support the Equal Justice Initiative (eji.org).
The intro to the special shows audience members arriving, getting their temperature taken and wearing custom Chappelle face masks with his signature “C” logo. Chappelle admitted during the clip the new procedures are “weird” and “less than ideal,” however those who attended told us they thought the safety protocols made them feel at ease and were grateful for the opportunity after the coronavirus shutdown.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Local residents in attendance at last weekend’s shows share their experiences with us:
“We are very lucky and thankful to have Dave here in Dayton engaging with the community... He gave people a reason to smile and have hope that maybe we can pull off these kinds of events in our ‘new normal,’” Ashley Pennington of Centerville shared with us.
Keith Klein of Dayton described: “It was so intense to see the emotion on his face from such a close distance. It was a powerful and moving moment, especially with everything going on in the world right now.”
>> Dayton says thank you to Dave Chappelle
Chappelle started the Dave Chappelle & Friends: A Talk with Punchlines series last weekend (June 6th through 8th). He added more dates to this series on Thursday, June 11, Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13.
>>>Read more: How to support black-owned businesses, organizations and artists in Dayton
— This article contains information from the Associated Press
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