For more than 25 years, comedian Dave Chappelle has called the small village of Yellow Springs, Ohio, home.

I recently traveled there to understand why he's invested millions of dollars into this community

and why he believes the local public media station is crucial to the town's future.

It's part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

Everybody comes in a town from this way, they get to see the town's future. It's part of our arts and culture series, Canvas. Everybody comes in a town from this way, they get to see this new building. Walk through Yellow Springs, Ohio with Dave Chappelle, and it's clear how much this small town means to one of the world's most famous comedians.

I think this was an unlikely pairing, but a powerful.

Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Chappelle first started coming here as a child.

His father, the late William Chappelle, was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs.

My parents split up when I was very young, and my dad relocated here.

So I would spend parts of every year visiting him here.

And then in like, say like 98, he fell really ill, and I would drive back and forth from New York to check on him,

and then ended up buying a house here. You know, there's

only like 3,800 people live in this town. It's a small town, but it is a real community.

Everyone kind of knows everybody. And I like that.

Chappelle and his wife Elaine have raised their three kids here.

Is it hard or weird to be Dave Chappelle in a town of 3,800 people? I mean, you raised your kids here, right? Your family's here. This is your home. I don't think it's any harder than any. It's maybe easier in some ways. Yeah? People will tell me if my kids are messing up or anything. They tell you that? Oh, yeah. I just saw your kid over there doing this and that. It's just a small town community, not too many surprises. So it's a good contrast for what the rest of my life is. And it keeps you humble. These people don't care about any of the stuff I do. I've been very busy in Ohio, and a lot of people say, what are you doing out there? What Chappelle has always done is tell jokes. The town that I've been living in for the last 25 years,

I bought most of it. I like it there. Including in a 2025 Netflix special about how much property he now owns in Yellow Springs,

where more than 80% of residents are white.

If I was white and the people in this town were black, you know what they'd say?

They would say I was gentrifying the town.

But there's no word for what I'm doing to these people.

How much of it do you own now?

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