Midwest Chick's Place

You may or may not know that Dave Chappelle went to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.

The school was going to name its new theater after him (since he helped raise a sizable amount to build it) but some students started raising a ruckus about Chappelle’s The Closer Netflix special.

He met with the students and it was pretty heated.  He said ‘These kids didn’t understand that they were instruments of oppression.’

And then he put this out on Instagram regarding the school’s plan:

‘If you object to my receiving this honor, I urge you to donate to the school noting your objection,’ he posted. ‘If you are in favor of the theater being named ‘Chappelle,’ I urge you to donate to the school, noting your approval.’

Because libs aren’t known for putting their money where their mouths are, the number approving the new name gave more than those who disapproved. 

Then came the surprise, as one should expect from a comedic artist.  The building will be officially named  the ‘Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression’, not the Dave Chappelle Theater.

He did not want the name to be divisive.  He wanted to send a message about Art and Expression.

‘The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it. It has nothing to do with what you are saying I can’t say. It has everything to do with my freedom of artistic expression.’

 Hopefully when those students grow up, they will understand his message.