Laney Tower

Issue date: 9/21/06 Last update: 9/22/06 at 2:14 PM PST Section: Arts

Media Credit: Felix Solomon Donald E. Lacy expounded on racism in a humorous vien for five nights at Laney College Theater.

Media Credit: Felix Solomon Lacy performs as a radio host in one of his skits.

Midway through the one-man show "Color Struck," light-skinned black man Donald E. Lacy Jr. tells the audience: "I have a B.A. in Theater Arts and a B.A. in Black Studies." Which means? "I knoooow how to act black!"

And that he did. Brilliantly, honestly, exuberantly, he bounded back and forth across Laney Theater's stage for five nights September 6-10 proclaiming his message-that we are still living in the white ages, racism is alive and well in 2006 and we need to ask the color question now-while keeping the audience chuckling, howling and even shouting out "Tell it!" as if to a preacher serving up a sermon.

Who is this magician? Dressed in white sneakers, black pants and black t-shirt (nothing up his sleeve), he's lecturing on the "Cress Theory of Color Confrontation"-slides flashing the screen in finest PowerPoint style. Then, poof! He's right back at you, ranting audacious, stereotypical one-liners about black men robbing the liquor store, greeting their homies via the surveillance video.

Next, Lacy shares a quiet story of police harassing him-a seven-year-old boy on his bicycle in 1960s San Leandro-for riding on the sidewalk without a permit. He remembers his fear. But, ta-da! It's Lacy the stand-up comic, smirking spoofs of old TV shows: the white Brady Bunch vs. the black Good Times, followed by a rendition of "If Lassie had lived with black folks"-too sublime to attempt to reproduce.

Homegrown in east Oakland, Lacy graduated from San Francisco State University and remains in the bay area as a playwright, actor, comic, and weekly DJ at KPOO. He's also director of the LoveLife Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the community's at-risk youth. Lacy founded the organization in 1997 after the murder of his 16-year-old daughter, LoEshe.

In "Color Struck," Lacy entertains while also imploring change. He tempers his riotous mockery of the black man's lust for fried chicken with images of Hurricane Katrina victims.

"Racism isn't history," he says, "See?" Here is the rare artist who understands that people will be more receptive to his message if they are relaxed, comfortable.

Plus, to counteract the distinct line between black and white, Lacy pokes fun at Chinese, Mexican, and Middle Eastern ethnicities, assuring, "I've been all over the world, and we're all the same. We're all the same."

Further, he notes that he's felt racism from both sides. In kindergarten, a kid accused him of not being "colored." Growing up in east Oakland with such light skin brought taunts of "light, bright, and damn near white!" Of course-poof!-out pops the flip side:To convince a curious woman of his true color, "I robbed the bitch," he says. "Is that black enough for you?"

Finally settling down, Lacy longs for the solid family life of his youth. He despairs the fading father figure in today's black communities, warning that the black man is threatened by extinction. Please, he asks, let's begin the dialogue.

As the audience filed out of the theater, it is fair to remark that they were motivated by Lacy's genuine spirit.

It is equally fair to say that they enjoyed a hilarious show.

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