Today, gentle reader, the world offers a moment of quiet reassurance. Chaos surrounds, grief will not be denied, the tumult of life is unending and the void fathoms deep. But you know what? It’s fucking September 21, and Demi Adejuyigbe has not forsaken us. Even in 2020, the year when even the Emmys included a literal garbage fire, we still get to celebrate Earth, Wind & Fire Day. Certain as the sun, rising in the east, tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme: September 21st.
What an entrance!
Now that you’ve watched this year’s video—Adejuyigbe’s fifth annual celebration of the 21st night of September, the 21st of September, the 21st of September—some important context. While one might have reasonably assumed that the pandemic would prevent Adejuyigbe from giving into his most ambitious EW&F-related impulses, he let the world know last night that he would not fail us, not this year, not any year. (Also, please stop tweeting him countdowns.)
But for the party to continue, we must not fail him. If during this shitshow, Demi Adejuyigbe can manage to produce that marvelous video, then surely we as denizens of the internet can come together to earn another one. Here’s Adejuyigbe, explaining in his own words why this video could be the last and making it very damn clear that such a loss is preventable if we’d only cough up for charity:
Five years, five September videos. A nice round number, and a perfect place for me to stop. There’s only so much dancing I can do—my knees are getting bad and I am running out of closet space for all these decorations!
That said, one of the nicest things about doing these September videos is using the attention as an opportunity to raise money for organizations whose goals I want to champion, whether that’s fighting climate change, resources and rights of the unhoused, trans equality & political power, racial justice, reproductive rights, prisoner justice, or a variety of other social goods. So I will keep these September videos going for another year, by challenging you all to help me raise $50,000 for a few select organizations listed here. If we hit $50,000, I’ll make another video! If we hit $100,000, uhhh, I’ll make another video but also probably freak out because—wow!—that’s a lot of money! If we hit $69,420, well...I’ll make another video, and have myself a giggle. (I’m only human.)
The organizations for which Adejuyigbe is raising money include Street Watch LA, D.C.’s Trans United Fund, Chicago’s BlackRoots Alliance, SELAH, and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
So, let’s come together as people who like jokes on the internet to raise so much money that poor Demi’s knees and storage space are similarly imperiled. (Please take care of your knees!) That way, next year, assuming we’re all still around, we’ll have another goofy, needlessly elaborate, marvelous video to watch.
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Update, 11:46 a.m.: Apparently the people would really like another video. Be patient!
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