The Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Project
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was born in Richmond, Va., on May 25, 1878, at 915 N. Third Street. He spent his early years in the market area shelling peas and sidewalk dancing. His dancing abilities carried him to the top of the entertainment world and on to become acclaimed as “The King of Tap Dancers”. He donated the first traffic control light north of Broad Street, at Adams and Leigh Streets, for the safety of the students of Armstrong High School.
During a club meeting in April 1972, Carroll Anderson presented a proposal to The Astoria Beneficial Club to erect a statue to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, with the purpose being “to serve as an inspiration to coming generations of young Richmonders that they too may make a meaningful contribution”. In a meeting of June 1972, Astoria’s Board of Governors approved the proposal. Within the same month, the club adopted the proposal. The “Bojangles” Memorial Fund Committee members were Carroll W. Anderson, Chairman; Marion Robertson, Vice-Chairman; George Taylor, Recording Secretary; Herbert H. Johnson, Financial Secretary; J. Carroll Beard, Treasurer; Wesley T. Carter, Richard W. Foster, Willie L. Loving, Reginald, M. Dyson, Bernard L. Jones, and Powell B. Williams. (Their names are engraved on the back of the statue).
On April 10, 1972, Richmond City Council passed a resolution designating a parcel of land at Adams and Leigh Streets as Robinson Square.
In August 1972, John Temple Witt, Sculptor and Professor of Art at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, VA, was commissioned to create a statue that would capture the “Bojangles” mystique. Witt used photographs, newsreels, and viewed films of Robinson’s movies, to study the Robinson mannerisms. Witt decided to depict “Bojangles” tap dancing down a flight of stairs. This creation won Astoria approval . The City Planning Commission approved the design of the statue.
Herbert Johnson, who later became Astoria President (1977/1978), contacted Reynolds Metals for corporate support of the project. Reynolds Metals donated the aluminum for the statue and the benches in the mini-park. Wesley T. Carter rode in the truck that carried the cast for the statue to Ohio.
On June 30, 1973, a crowd of more than a thousand people attended the dedication. What was once a vision had become a reality. The Peony Garden Club had landscaped the square with grass, trees, and flowers. The occasion was appropriately festive with a uniformed band, and beauty queens to add a touch of glamour. Vice Mayor Henry C. Marsh and State Senator L. Douglas Wilder, were speakers. Lemuel V. Eggleston, a childhood pal and life-long friend of Bojangles, did the unveiling of the statue. Reynolds Metals hosted a luncheon for Astoria in their corporate building, after the ceremony.
The nine- foot, 652 pound cast aluminum statue cost more than $14,000. It was the first statue, in the City of Richmond, to memorialize a black man. It was proclaimed to be a fitting tribute to a great philanthropist and humanitarian.
Every year, the Astoria Beneficial Club, Inc, has a commemorative service at the statue on the fourth Saturday in June.
During a club meeting in April 1972, Carroll Anderson presented a proposal to The Astoria Beneficial Club to erect a statue to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, with the purpose being “to serve as an inspiration to coming generations of young Richmonders that they too may make a meaningful contribution”. In a meeting of June 1972, Astoria’s Board of Governors approved the proposal. Within the same month, the club adopted the proposal. The “Bojangles” Memorial Fund Committee members were Carroll W. Anderson, Chairman; Marion Robertson, Vice-Chairman; George Taylor, Recording Secretary; Herbert H. Johnson, Financial Secretary; J. Carroll Beard, Treasurer; Wesley T. Carter, Richard W. Foster, Willie L. Loving, Reginald, M. Dyson, Bernard L. Jones, and Powell B. Williams. (Their names are engraved on the back of the statue).
On April 10, 1972, Richmond City Council passed a resolution designating a parcel of land at Adams and Leigh Streets as Robinson Square.
In August 1972, John Temple Witt, Sculptor and Professor of Art at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, VA, was commissioned to create a statue that would capture the “Bojangles” mystique. Witt used photographs, newsreels, and viewed films of Robinson’s movies, to study the Robinson mannerisms. Witt decided to depict “Bojangles” tap dancing down a flight of stairs. This creation won Astoria approval . The City Planning Commission approved the design of the statue.
Herbert Johnson, who later became Astoria President (1977/1978), contacted Reynolds Metals for corporate support of the project. Reynolds Metals donated the aluminum for the statue and the benches in the mini-park. Wesley T. Carter rode in the truck that carried the cast for the statue to Ohio.
On June 30, 1973, a crowd of more than a thousand people attended the dedication. What was once a vision had become a reality. The Peony Garden Club had landscaped the square with grass, trees, and flowers. The occasion was appropriately festive with a uniformed band, and beauty queens to add a touch of glamour. Vice Mayor Henry C. Marsh and State Senator L. Douglas Wilder, were speakers. Lemuel V. Eggleston, a childhood pal and life-long friend of Bojangles, did the unveiling of the statue. Reynolds Metals hosted a luncheon for Astoria in their corporate building, after the ceremony.
The nine- foot, 652 pound cast aluminum statue cost more than $14,000. It was the first statue, in the City of Richmond, to memorialize a black man. It was proclaimed to be a fitting tribute to a great philanthropist and humanitarian.
Every year, the Astoria Beneficial Club, Inc, has a commemorative service at the statue on the fourth Saturday in June.
