Brian Copeland

There was no valet parking on Mission or Valencia streets 15 years ago. No one was no waiting 10 minutes in line for Tartine or Ritual coffee. The only slightly gentrified business on the Valencia strip was Val 21 – (now Dosa) right next to the lesbian bookstore. 23rd Street was inhabited by Radio Valencia (serving up pre-mp3 mixed music), instead of people drinking absinthe at Beretta.

Photo courtesy of Brian Copeland

Long before the electorate questioned Barack Obama’s blackness, Brian Copeland was being harassed for his own dubious blackness. Copeland’s story “Not A Genuine Black Man”, became the longest running solo show in San Francisco history Running for two and a half years (!) it returned home to the Marsh this past weekend.