William David Chappelle was born enslaved in 1857 in Winnsboro, South Carolina, one of the eleven children of Henry and Patsy McCory Chappelle.
He would emerge from his chains to become an American educator & bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 1/

Chappelle served as president of Allen University, an HBCU in Columbia, South Carolina, fr 1897-1899 & as the chairman of its board of trustees f3 1916-1925.
Chappelle's His father-in-law was Robert John Palmer, one of South Carolina's black legislators during Reconstruction. 2/

On March 13, 1918, Bishop Chappelle led a delegation from the AME Church to meet President Woodrow Wilson at the White House. The delegation came to protest the mounting wave of anti-black violence -lynchings & mob violence- the Great Migration. Wilson took no action. 3/

His descendants have included professors, performers & protesters, often rolled into 1. His great grandson is comedian David Chappelle whose parents were both professors, activists & artists. Chappelle has followed in the footsteps of a family engaged in the arts & activism. 4/

Chappelle stunned fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production and took a trip to South Africa. Chappelle said that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken & felt some of his sketches were "socially irresponsible." 5/

Chappelle's decision to quit the show meant walking away from his $50 million contract with Comedy Central & opening himself up to legal trouble. “The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself, especially when everybody is watching.” 6/

Chappelle delivers incisive social commentary that can be simultaneously thought provoking, humorous & discomforting. He recently opened up in a comedy sketch asking his fans not to watch his Comedy Central Show because they wouldn't pay him royalties. 7/

Netflix removed the show from their streaming service. It was announced today that he won back the rights of royalties for the show that made Comedy Central millions. 8/

Chappelle’s unique blend of insightful, social commentary, sometimes shocking & sometimes (simultaneously) brilliant has been described as 1 of the best standup comedy routines ever. It is also *part* of the legacy of his family’s heritage played out in a singular person. 9/9