How Dave Chappelle Taught A Comedy Crowd About The History Of Race And Black People

For a long time now, Dave Chappelle has been one of the biggest and most influential presences in comedy. Never one to shy away from a hot take, he’s gathered his fair share of controversy. But even his harshest critics will usually concede that there are and have been times when he just absolutely shines as a uniquely perceptive voice.

Recently, a new story about a Chappelle performance has leaked to the internet. Ok, “new” might not be the best word, as it apparently happened back in 2015, but until now there’s been no public knowledge of it.

It made its way to the internet this month via the Twitter account of comedian Kenny DeForest, who presumably chose this time to share it because it’s so germane to the national and global outcry over police brutality and racism. The story takes place at a Brooklyn, NY comedy club called The Knit in 2015, where he was helping run a regular show.

At the begging of that night, nobody even knew Dave Chappelle was going to show up, much less that he was going to leave everybody speechless.

Part 1: The Club

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288526178639872

Part 2: You Really Wanna Do This?

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288528372215808

Part 3: What Good is it If Ya’ll Don’t Care?

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288529810853888

Part 4: Education

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288531215998976

Part 5: Disgusting and Outrageous

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288532679806977

Part 6: But I’m Still Black

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288534110076929

Part 7: The Twist

‘I know who you are Dave Chappelle’ & I said ‘so why do you need my license and registration?’” He gets off w/ a warning. The twist? The same cop would go on to murder John Crawford III. His take away: “I shouldn’t have to be Dave Chappelle to survive police encounters”

— Kenny DeForest (@KennyDeForest) June 3, 2020

Part 8: Critical Mass

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288536324628481

Part 9: Hat Girl

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288538371428354

Part 10: Part of the Solution

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288540883877888

Part 11: 200+ People

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288542309941248

Part 12: Allow That Care to Become Action

https://twitter.com/KennyDeForest/status/1268288548555206656

Pretty incredible stuff.

So far as we know, no one else, including Chappelle, has either confirmed or denied the story, but nothing about it seems particularly off-base. He’s got a real talent for sucking the air out of the room and refilling it with joy as he sees fit.

It’s an important reminder that you can be part of the problem or part of the solution, and that even a little of the former is light years ahead of the latter.

What are your thoughts on this? Share them in the comments.