While Dave Chappelle has a knack for being able to inject humor into discussions about race, there were no punchlines involved during his reflection on an incident of police violence in his hometown.
In a video posted Monday, Chappelle is seen speaking at a City Council meeting in Yellow Springs, Ohio, about two black men being Tased by police during New Year’s Eve festivities.
Many residents in the predominately white village ― described by Flavor Wire as a “hippie town” ― were upset by the behavior of law enforcement officials that night.
Chappelle began his two-minute statement by noting his personal interactions with the police in the town have been positive, and he even recalled having a level of familiarity with the officers in town while he was growing up ― a contrast, he said, with current community-police relations.
“Now we’re being policed by what feels like an alien force,” Chappelle said.
He pointed out that the town can use the opportunity of selecting a new police chief ― the last resigned shortly after the incident ― to become the standard in “progressive law enforcement.”
“I would beseech the council to look deeply and a little hard because this is a golden opportunity ― literally we could kill the game ― in this Trump era,” he continued. “This is an opportunity to show everybody that local politics reigns supreme. We can make our corner of the world outstanding.”
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Source: HuffPost Black Voices