Event

NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN

"...a beautiful mix of wry humor and heartbreak,indignation
and inspiration,a singular story of extreme isolation that speaks to anyone who's ever felt out of place."
-San Francisco Chronicle

"Copeland's ability to captivate an audience rivals many
a celebrated solo predecessor, from Ruth Draper to Spalding Gray to Whoopi Goldberg.
This aspect,coupled with the clear-eyed view of racial realities,propels "Not a Genuine Black Man,"because Copeland is a genuine discovery."
-Los Angeles Times

"In 1971, The National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing called San Leandro, California 'a racist bastion of white supremacy'. NEWSWEEK and CBS covered the story. The US Commission on Civil Rights Conducted Hearings. And then, we moved to town."

So begins Brian Copeland's acclaimed one man show, NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN. The longest running solo play in Bay Area theatrical History, GENUINE is Copeland's true story of being an 8 year old African American boy trying to make his way in a hostile, militantly white Bay Area suburb in the 1970s and the scars the experience of being "the only one" left on him as an adult in the 21st century when he is accused of racial betrayal for being "too white". In an evening of laughter, tears and sociology, Brian explores how our surroundings make us who we are.

NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN has had critically acclaimed runs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Off Broadway and in over thirty American cities. The memoir based on the play was a bestseller that is required reading in several high schools, colleges and universities across the country.