Dave Chappelle felt compelled to put on an impromptu stand-up special in the wake of George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis cop. The half-hour special he titled "8:46" in reference to how long a knee was to his neck, is streaming for free on Netflix's YouTube channel, the comedian tackles the protest, CNN's Don Lemon, a black conseravatives' view of Floyd's culpability (she will remain unnamed) and give historical context of racial injustice. While there are some funny gags, Chapelle uses the time to rant about the events of the last two weeks.
The special takes place in an outdoor venue with a small socially-distanced audience with masks. In the YouTube description, Chappelle apologizes for rawness of the special. "Normally I wouldn't show you something so unrefined, I hope you understand," says the comedian. In addition, he provided a link to support the Equal Justice Initiative at support.eji.org/chappelle
Less a comedy special and more commentary, Chappelle puts the protests and the killing of Floyd in a historical perspective. He's no stranger to working in social and political gags but his approach is usually very informative and necessary. In a prior Netflix special, he said that unfortunately great tragedies often inspire change like the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955 which ignited a civil rights movement led by his mother, Mamie Till when she let the world see his mutilated body in an open casket viewing.
George Floyd's killing may be one of those moments that launches change to combat the gross injustices against black Americans. At least we hope.
