Dave Chappelle Speaks On George Floyd, Police Brutality In New Special
Dave Chappelle has a new Netflix special titled 8:46, which is named after the time that the comedian was born as well as the amount of time that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, killing him.
The comedy special, which debuted for free on Netflix’s YouTube comedy channel late Thursday evening (June 11), isn’t filled with too many jokes. However, Chappelle recounts a myriad of police brutality stories that transpired across the nation, beginning with Floyd.
“It’s hard to figure out what to say about George Floyd, so I’m not going to say it yet,” Chappelle opens, while flipping through a black notebook. “I got to tell you, this is like the first concert in North American since all this [expletive] happened, so like it or not, it’s history. It’s going to be in the books.”
A very candid cigarette smoking Chappelle then referenced the murders of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, and the congregation of the church that was shot up by Dylann Roof during the special, which was filmed on June 6 in Yellow Springs, Ohio, as Variety reports.
The outdoor comedy event was set up with social distancing guidelines for attendees, which included face mask requirements and temperature checks. “This is not funny at all,” Chappelle said when he got past the midway point of his Netflix special.
Before concluding, Chappelle got personal. After revealing that his great grandfather was born a slave and making a point to assert that we’re not far removed from that time, Chappelle said, “And these [expletive] say why isn’t David Chappelle saying anything because David Chappelle understands what the [expletive] he is seeing, and these streets will speak for themselves whether I’m alive or dead.”
Dave Chappelle’s 27-minute show came with the disclaimer “From Dave: Normally I wouldn’t show you something so unrefined, I hope you understand,” alongside a link to the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending mass incarceration and racial inequality.
