In a surprise move, comedian Dave Chappelle announced that the student theater at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in northwestern Washington would not be named. Chappelle, one of the school’s most famous alumni, was in town on Monday night for a tribute ceremony. Instead, it will be called the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression. The dedication was originally postponed last November after critics denounced the high-profile Netflix comedian “The Closer” as transphobic. Ellington students also expressed concern. Chappelle told the public on Monday that while he believed the reaction against him was irrelevant and unrelated to his work, he did not want a theater named after him to distract students from focusing on the meaning of their art. He also noted that the criticism “honestly” hurt him. Chappelle said he decided on Friday not to have his name on the school. “But the Ellington family is my family,” he said. At the time of the controversy last year, Duke Ellington Principal Sandi Logan said she had formal and informal meetings with students to discuss Chappelle’s comments, including a month of weekly meetings with a student leadership advisory committee that included school and Gender representatives. Sexual Alliance. Duke Ellington School delays renaming Dave Chappelle theater until April “Continuing the event… without first answering questions and concerns from members of the Ellington community would be a missed opportunity for a teaching moment,” the school wrote in a statement. Founded in 1974 with the mission of providing free, first-class art education to children in the nation’s capital, Duke Ellington attracts students from all over the city and is one of the few art schools in the area that trains mostly black students. Chappelle, who pledged to donate $ 100,000 to the school theater, said last October that bringing theater to his honor was “the most important honor of my life.” “I used to miss school. I would hide there when I miss class. Who would have thought that this theater would one day be named after me? ” Chappelle told donors to raise money for Ellington ahead of the screening of “The Closer” at the Angelika Pop-Up Theater in Union Market. “But I understand it because sometimes, when you love things, they love you back. “And I liked this school.”
