Dave Chapelle

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No matter what you think about controversial comedy legend Dave Chappelle, you have to admit he knows how to come through with words of encouragement right on time.

On Saturday night (Feb. 22) , Chappelle was honored at the 56th NAACP Image Awards with the President’s Award, and, in true Dave fashion, he delivered a speech aimed at positivity and people caring for each other while also getting in a few topical jokes.

“You know, look, I won a lot of awards recently, but this one tonight is probably the most special award I’ve ever gotten because it’s from this institution that represents these people, us, people of color, Black people,” the 51-year-old told the audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
“My god brother is here tonight, Ben Jealous,” he continued. “Ben used to be the president of the NAACP, and I asked him, I said, ‘What do you think? What do you think I should say tonight?’ And Ben sent me a whole speech. But what was important, he said, in 1915, the movie Birth of a Nation came out, and had a hideous depiction of African Americans. And by 1927, the NAACP had opened its first office in Hollywood. And from then, 100 years ago to this very night, they have been chipping away at this industry so that people like me can stand up in front of people and tell my story or our stories each and every artist in here, every opportunity we get, every time we’re on camera on stage, we just keep chipping away at this monster of a machine.”
Chappelle wasn’t about to leave the stage without getting in a few quips, of course, so he joked about all the controversy his Netflix stand-up specials, which have been panned as anti-LGBTQ+, has stirred up.
“But tonight, man, tonight, I feel invigorated because all my Netflix checks clear,” he said to the laughter of the crowd.
Then Chappelle got serious while encouraging people to see each other through the “difficult” time we are currently experiencing under the current administration. (He doesn’t actually mention Trump, but we know what he was talking about during his speech, which came not long after former Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her own fiery speech while accepting the Chairman’s Award.)

“Every time you see me, just know I’m only up there because I want to be right up there,” Chappelle said. “And I hope, I hope all of us who work in this industry feel strong and inspired and not discouraged, especially because this is a very difficult time right now. And your institution is, sadly, more relevant than it’s been in a long time. We got a lot of work to do, but it feels good to know that we’re not in it alone, that we got each other. And remember, community is everything.”
Shout out to Dave for telling the people what we all need to hear right now. Take care of each other, y’all, and we’ll make it through.