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David Letterman

ENGL 101

18 November 2018

Dave Chappelle’s ​Killin Them Softly

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided a glimpse of hope to a “post-racial” society in

which Americans of all creed and color would have equal opportunities and treatment. However,

the subsequent decades of the 20th century led to the development of a nation tainted with

institutional racism. Conservative policy changes under the Reagan and Bush administration

covertly targeted minorities such as the war on drugs, mass incarceration and welfare reform, and

this widened the social gap between wealthy Caucasians and low-income African Americans in

the United States. While the white community often turned a blind eye to these social injustices,

African-Americans were extremely aware of the difference in treatment and prominent black

figures in pop culture such as comics and musicians took inspiration from this discriminatory

culture. Dave Chappelle is one of the most legendary comics in history, and his precise delivery

of his jokes along with the subtle message behind each punchline established both Chapelle’s

talent in comedy and his social awareness as a public figure. Throughout the 1990s,

African-Americans faced various racially-charged hardships such as police brutality, systemic

drug abuse, and institutional racism in an allegedly “post-racial” society, and Dave Chappelle

utilizes exaggerated and humorous personal anecdotes with underlying truth in ​Killin Them

Softly​ to exploit how these hardships create the drastic social gap in the lifestyles of whites and

blacks.
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Discrimination in America’s judicial system has been prevalent since the introduction of

the War on Drugs, and this has created a detrimental impact on the African-American

community due to the discriminatory of law enforcement. The police carry a stigma of fear and

danger amongst the black community, and Chappelle recognizes this when he claims that “black

people are very afraid of the police. That is a big part of our culture” [03:40 - 03:48]. While the

discriminatory methods of police is common knowledge in 2018, the general public was unaware

of the hardships faced by the black community until the “spring of 1991, [when] the habitual

viciousness of the LAPD against blacks was caught on videotape” (Serrianne 174). Rodney King

symbolized ​the​ race relations of the United States after he was brutally assaulted by four LAPD,

as the incident was recorded by a bystander and sent off to the local news in an attempt to expose

the wrongdoings of the officers. The recording was picked up by national news, and eventually

all major forms of media such as ​Newsweek​ began to cover the story of the LAPD and the Los

Angeles black community. In ​Killin Them Softly,​ Chappelle spends a large portion discussing his

personal perspective on the relationship between blacks and police however he keeps his direct

focus on conveying humor rather than creating a social commentary. As Chappelle discusses the

skepticism from Caucasians on whether or not police brutality was true, he claims that it finally

became public knowledge once “Newsweek printed it, and [they] knew it was true” (12:28 -

12:39). This is a reference to Mark Craig, an icon of the L.A. riots and the cover of a 1992 issue

of Newsweek Magazine covering the riots and protests against the LAPD. Making a subtle

reference to this cover without explicitly attacking white people for their ignorance to the matter

emphasizes Chappelle's talent as a comedian, as he indicates how the perspective on police from

the white community is close to a polar opposite of those in the black community. The ignorance
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to the issue also reveals the racial targeting from police forces, as the white community often

receives little to no blame for any crimes. Chappelle is aware of this, and instead of outright

attacking police for their biased treatments, he conveys this message through ​hilarious

fictionalized anecdotes of his encounters with police while he is with his white friend, Chip.

When describing his experiences, Chappelle begins with describing getting lost while smoking a

joint in New York City and eventually seeing a police officer. While Chappelle immediately gets

a sense of fear and anxiety, Chip is completely calm and even hits the joint again before going up

to the officer to ask for directions. This creates a sense of disbelief for Chappelle as he claims

that “a black man would never talk to the police high. It’s a waste of weed” (6:58-7:06).

Chappelle chooses to exaggerate the confidence and ignorance of his friend in order to reveal the

contrasting perspectives that police have depending on race , and he conveys an underlying truth

of white people being immune to the law as his friend gets off scot-free after talking to the

officer. In order to further convey this message, Chappelle recalls another hilarious memory with

Chip and the police, only in a far more drastic scenario. His friend is drunk driving and decided

to street race, only to inevitably get pulled over. Chappelle explains how he was “scared as shit.

The car smelled like weed, we been speeding, this man is fucking drunk” but Chip was not

“scared at all” (8:57 - 9:28). This conveys the contrasting perspectives of white and blacks have

on the police, as blacks view the cops as an enemy and a source of fear while whites feel a sense

of invincibility from the law. This ideal is further enforced from the outcome of the traffic stop,

as Chip provides the weak excuse of “I didn’t know I couldn’t do that” and ​still​ manages to get

off the hook from any sort of penalty (10:01). According to Doane Jr of the University of

Hartford, “whites in the United States have historically enjoyed an array of privileges and have
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been less likely to have experienced prejudice, discrimination, or disadvantage due to race” and

this sense of privilege worked for Chappelle in this personal anecdote (Doane Jr). Chip being

Caucasian allowed the duo to avoid any legal implications, however this double standard heavily

emphasizes the flaws in our judicial system along with the contrast between the Caucasian

experience and the African-American experience with police.

The complex and hostile relationship between African-Americans and police have

various origins, however a primary cause of police brutality is the war on drugs. In June 1971,

Richard Nixon established a “war on drugs” which consisted of increasing the authority of

federal drug control and law enforcement along with setting stricter laws and penalties. While

this policy has good intentions behind it, an essentially sinister aspect of it was revealed later by

an associate of Nixon. John Ehrlichman admits that, “the Nixon White House had two enemies:

the antiwar left and black people...by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana

and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.

We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night

after night on the evening news” (Drug Policy Alliance). Due to this shift in American culture,

the concept of crack cocaine and “crackheads” became synonymous with low-income, black

communities. Chappelle recognizes this in his comedy, as “crackheads” are often involved in his

jokes and anecdotes. Even in the introduction to ​Killin Them Softly​, Chappelle notes how crack

was booming in D.C. in the 1980s, and this led to “white people looking from Virginia with

binoculars and shit [saying] ‘Well that looks dangerous. Not yet’” (1:49-1:58). The stigma

created by the media in order to satisfy Nixon’s agenda led to a prolonged white fear surrounding

crack cocaine and African-Americans, which only worsened the social gap between the two
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groups. However, instead of Chapelle explicitly discussing the flaws of the war on drugs, he

chooses to point out the absurdities of the stereotypes that surround crack users in these

low-income communities in order to emphasize the illogical perception whites have on the

matter. As Chappelle recounts one eventful limo ride to the ghetto, he describes how he saw “a

fucking crackhead run [one] way. Then another jumped out a tree and shit,” and even recalled

how “every once in awhile a crackhead would come up to the car, and look in the window”

(19:04 - 22:11). This exaggerated anecdote of Dave’s experience with the “crackheads” is met

with a roaring laughter from the audience, however the behavior of these “crackheads” is the

common perception that white people have on those addicted to crack cocaine in these

low-income communities. Chappelle's choice to tell the story from his perspective in the limo, a

position of privilege, and this further emphasizes the caucasian point of the view that Dave

utilizes in this. While Chappelle humorously portrays these addicts as primitive, the ridiculous

and exaggerated nature of the “crackheads” behavior emphasizes the flaws behind the white

communities perspective on crack-cocaine and their users. Drugs have not only influenced the

African-American community through usage, but the sales of drugs as a form of income has also

become prevalent in low-income, black communities. According to Tatiana Daniels of the

University of Sacramento, marginalized African-Americans begin “dealing drugs in their

adolescence considered it as a means to seek economic gain in order to supplement meager wage

opportunities or resource” (Daniels 23). This is a major aspect of the culture within low-income,

black communities, and Chappelle utilizes his skillfully designed personal anecdotes in order to

comment on this phenomena while also receiving some of the strongest positive reception

throughout the entire special. While recounting his limo ride to the projects, Chappelle focuses
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on his interaction of a baby standing on the corner at 3am and his fear of the situation. Once

Chappelle finally gains the courage to confront the baby, the baby yells back, “I’m selling weed,

nigga!”. As Chappelle tries to convince him to improve his behavior, the baby snaps back by

saying “Fuck you, nigga! I got kids to feed” (21:30 - 22:57). This is one of the most significant

jokes in ​Killin Them Softly​, as Chappelle is able to utilize humor in order to convey the

perspective of a white person in the projects. Choosing to make the dealer a baby instead of an

adult makes the situation far more hilarious than fearful, however Chappelle still being afraid

demonstrates how white people often perceive members of the low-income, black community

with fear and anxiety without any justifiable reason or logic. Also, choosing to have the baby sell

weed in order to pay for his kids indicates how many marginalized African-Americans revert to

selling drugs “as a means for economic survival” (Daniels 23). Chappelle's humor frequently

refers to his experiences with drugs, however in ​Killin Them Softly​, he was able to utilize his

exaggerated anecdotes in order to reveal how the white communities’ unfair perspective on drug

use amongst blacks has only worsened the divide between the Caucasian and African-American

races.

The 1980s and the 1990s consisted of a reactionary transition from the liberal ideals of

the 1960s-70s, and the policy reform under the Reagan and Bush administrations is considered

the Second Reconstruction, as it “impacted all areas of fundamental liberties for communities of

color” (Serrianne 173). The policies established in the late 20th century created vast detrimental

impacts on minorities, especially African-American communities, and legislations such as

welfare reform or the trend of mass incarceration due to the war on drugs strained the

relationship between whites and blacks immensely. Dave Chappelle creates humor from his
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experiences with institutional racism in order to reveal the systemic flaws in America’s

“post-racial” society. As Chappelle explains why he did not call the police after a home invasion

because his “house is too nice”, he claims that the cop would believe that Dave “broke in and

hung up pictures of his family everywhere” (11:48 - 12:11). The absurd behavior of the cop

demonstrates the police’s bias ​arrogance​ while also creating humor, however the underlying

validity behind Chappelle's fear emphasizes the police officer’s stereotypical assumption that all

African-Americans are criminals and only white people can afford such an expensive house. This

assumption about Chappelle's financial status is partly due to the systemic wealth gap created by

discriminatory legislation and policies. After World War II, white veterans utilized housing loans

subsidized by the government and this led to “vast new household wealth for whites during the

postwar era” (Demos). However, black veterans were excluded from using these loans along

with being restricted from suburbs due to the claim that they would lower the neighborhood

value. Institutional racism is fueled through the wealth gap between races, and the establishment

of “projects” or “ghettoes” only increased the social divide between races. As Chappelle recounts

his limo ride to the projects, he describes his surroundings as “a gun store, gun store, liquor store,

gun store” (18:56 - 19:01). Chappelle's exaggeration of seeing only gun stores and liquor stores

creates humor for the audience due to the ridiculousness of the situation, however there is an

underlying truth to the joke as low-income communities often have a lack of reputable and

socially beneficial businesses. Marginalized communities often have trouble attracting positive

business, and with rates of crime and substance abuse significantly high in low-income

communities, gun stores and liquor stores are the only businesses able to remain open in such

environments. Dave Chappelle establishes his talent as a comic in this iconic special through his
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skilled use of joke delivery and underlying cultural references, and his comparison of Sesame

Street to a rough neighborhood exemplifies his skills as a comedian. As Chappelle recounts

watching TV with his nephew, he begins to critique Sesame Street by claiming the characters

such as Snuffaluffagus, Oscar the Grouch, and the Count. Chappelle compares Snuffaluffagus tp

an “elephant that’s a junkie”, the Grouch to a homeless man who is “the poorest motherfucker on

Sesame Street”, and even the Count to “a pimp...had a cape and everything” (24:18 - 26:25).

Sesame Street, a show prevalent in the white community, has a child-like innocence, and

Chappelle's ability to find a correlation between the stereotypical “ghetto” and Sesame Street

emphasizes the contrasting perspectives of the white and black community.. The nature of the

comparison itself is absurd and this is what creates humor in the joke, however the underlying

truth of junkies and pimps acting as mainstays in “ghettos” reveals the stereotypical perspective

society has on these low-income communities. Institutional racism has created a drastic social

void between African-American and Caucasian communities in the United States, and Chappelle

cleverly utilizes his own experiences to generate humor while also conveying a social

commentary on the stereotypical perspectives caused by institutional racism.

Throughout ​Killing Them Softly,​ Dave Chappelle utilizes exaggerated and humorous

personal anecdotes with underlying truth in ​Killin Them Softly​ to exploit how these hardships

create the drastic social gap in the lifestyles of whites and blacks. Institutional racism was

extremely prevalent in the late 20th century due to conservative policy changes under the Reagan

and Bush administrations, and the quality of life between Caucasians and African-Americans

were significantly different because of this societal discrimination. Through precise delivery and
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subtle social commentary in each joke, Dave Chappelle established himself as a legendary

comedian in ​Killing Them Softly.

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Works Cited

Callahan, David. “How the GI Bill Left Out African Americans.” ​Demos,​ Demos, 11 Nov. 2013,

www.demos.org.

Daniels, Tatiana Starr. “What Influences Some Black Males to Sell Drugs During Their

Adolescence?” ​California State University of Sacramento​, McNair Scholars Journal,

www.csus.edu.

Doane, Ashley W. “WHITE IDENTITY AND RACE RELATIONS IN THE 1990s.” ​University

of Hartford,​ Hillyer College, 1997, uhaweb.hartford.edu.

Drug Policy Alliance “A Brief History of the Drug War.” ​Drug Policy Alliance,​

www.drugpolicy.org.

Joseph, Peniel. “Why the 1992 L.A. Riots Matter Today.” ​CNN,​ Cable News Network, 28 Apr.

2017, ​www.cnn.com​.

Serrianne, Nina Esperanza. “Race Relations.” ​America in the Nineties​, Syracuse University

Press, Syracuse, New York, 2015, pp. 172–196. ​JSTOR​, ​www.jstor.org​.