Dave Chappelle Campaigns With Ben Jealous In Maryland

BALTIMORE, MD — Comedian Dave Chappelle is in town, where he will perform at two sold-out shows at The Lyric in Baltimore. But that isn't all the Emmy award-winning celebrity will be doing while he's in Maryland.

Chappelle is making appearances at a pair of campaign events on behalf of a childhood friend: gubernatorial hopeful Ben Jealous.

Over the course of two days, Chappelle will be at these two stops on the campaign trail for Jealous:

• 1 p.m. on Friday, June 8: Event at Olde Town Inne, 14745 Main Street, Upper Marlboro (pictured)

• 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 9: Rally at Morgan State University, Graves School of Business Management, 4100 Hillen Road, Baltimore

“As a civil rights leader and community organizer, I know the best way to win is to continue engaging Marylanders in every corner of our state...from Baltimore City to Prince George's County to the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland,” said Ben Jealous, whose resume includes being the former leader of the NAACP.

"During Maryland’s early vote period, we will continue mobilizing voters to the polls and continue building a movement to get Maryland back to doing big things again like fully funding our schools, tuition free college, Medicare For All and making our communities safer while ending mass incarceration," Jealous said.

Jealous has vowed in recent campaign ads to "end mass incarcerations and police killings of unarmed civilians," a narrative that fits with Chappelle's outspokenness on race relations.

Based on a University of Maryland and Washington Post poll released on Tuesday, Jealous leads a crowded field of contenders vying for the Democratic nomination for governor. The poll also showed that 40 percent of voters still remain undecided.

Chappelle is the first of a series of high-profile endorsers expected to turn out for events on behalf of Jealous. Others are Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Ben & Jerry's founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, California Senator Kamala Harris, National Education Association Vice President Becky Pringle, former Obama Administration officials Van Jones and Joshua DuBois, International President of SEIU Mary Kay Henry and actor Lamman Rucker.

Chappelle will also headline at The Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric Opera House at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 8, and Saturday, June 9. Tickets are sold out for both shows, held at 140 West Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore.

Pictured, comedian Dave Chappelle speaks onstage during the 90th Annual Academy Awards, where he was a presenter, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)