How Bojangles' statue in RVA became a moment to change

The Astoria Beneficial Club commemorates the Bill “Bojangles” Robinson statue in

The Astoria Beneficial Club commemorates the Bill "Bojangles" Robinson statue in Jackson Ward in 2014.

In March 1986, director Wayne Westbrook filmed a scene at the Bill "Bojangles" Robinson statue in Jackson Ward as part of a documentary about Richmond. The film was Continental Cablevision's entry in a national contest among a dozen North American cable systems.

The statue of tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is 9½ feet tall atop a 6-foot pedestal.

The statue of tap dancer and actor Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, a famous entertainer in the first half of the 20th century, is at Adams and Leigh streets, an intersection where the Richmond native funded a stoplight to protect neighborhood children.

This statue on Brown's Island was created by Paul DiPasquale to honor African Americans who worked on the James River canal boats.

When the statue of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was unveiled 50 years ago in Jackson Ward, it broke a color barrier of sorts in the city of monuments — the first known statue to memorialize a Black person in Richmond.

But if the likeness of the trailblazing tap dancer, actor and singer was a Black history moment, members of the historic African American service organization that made it happen are unassuming about their role.

On Saturday, the Astoria Beneficial Club was slated to hold a 50th anniversary celebration of the Robinson statue at Leigh Street and Chamberlayne Parkway. The program called for former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder to give the keynote address — as he did as a state senator a half-century ago — before the assembled walked the short distance to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia for a reception.

A mile and a half away, employees of a Black-owned Richmond company were taking the first steps to revitalize the former site of the Robert E. Lee monument, erected in 1890.

Michael Paul Williams

Eleven years later — shortly after Virginia convened a constitutional convention to strip Black people of their voting rights — the Astoria Beneficial Club was founded by 22 young men who "believed that the barriers to full citizenship could be eliminated with patience, planning and timely action," according to the club's website. "Their vision became the guiding light for a rich history of pioneer efforts to gain voting rights, equal opportunity employment and to end segregation of public eating facilities."

But current members of the club see the Robinson monument mainly as an expression of appreciation for Robinson's 1933 donation of a stoplight at Adams and Leigh streets, across from the old Armstrong High School — but one example of largesse by the wealthy entertainer whose roots were in Jackson Ward.

"Children were going across Leigh Street, to get over to the school, and kids were getting hit," said Astoria Beneficial Club member Marvin Tart. "There were close calls, and there was a call for a stoplight at the intersection that the city basically ignored. So Bojangles came out of his pocket and put up the $400 to have that stoplight installed so traffic would stop and allow the kids to cross the street over to Armstrong High School."

During the early 1970s, a senior member of the club said Robinson should somehow be recognized. The club ultimately agreed to "commemorate his actions by installing a statue of him to show that he was more than just an entertainer and a dancer; he was a humanitarian," Tart said.

As for the historic nature of the statue, "The fact that it was the first statue of a Black man in the city ... I’m going to be honest with you, we just don't discuss it like that," Tart said.

"Of course, we recognize it now. But when I first joined the club, there was very little mention of that."

The early 1970s, it should be noted, were not an era of racial harmony in Richmond.

Richmond Mayor Henry L. Marsh III addresses the crowd at a 100th birthday observance for the late actor and dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson on May 25, 1978. The statue of Bojangles is visible at left.

The City Council was the target of a lawsuit by Curtis Holt alleging that its annexation of a portion of Chesterfield County was racially motivated to dilute Richmond's growing Black voter power. City elections were suspended as a result. A busing plan to desegregate the city's public schools precipitated major flight of white residents to the suburbs.

But opposition to the Robinson statue came not from the white community, but from a Black artist angry at the selection of white sculptor Jack Witt, a professor of art at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland.

Clarence Hagins, a Richmond native and New York artist, felt that a Black artist should have been chosen, according to a February 2003 recounting of the episode by then-Times-Dispatch librarian/researcher Larry Hall.

"I don't care if he carves like Michelangelo," Hagins said. "It's not his culture, and he won't be able to do it justice."

The controversy slowed fundraising dramatically, but the Astoria Beneficial Club stood by its choice. The money was raised and the statue was dedicated on June 30, 1973. Witt's sculpture of Robinson dancing down a staircase was cast in aluminum donated by Reynolds Metals.

"I feel it's a great depiction of Bojangles. I feel like it's done in good taste. ... I feel like he did a fine job," Tart said. Senior club members, he added, "are pretty much happy with it."

But there is one thing.

Robinson's date of birth on a plaque on the base of the statue is incorrect. It's shown as Dec. 14, 1878, rather than his actual birthday of May 25, 1878.

"We’ve been in discussions probably for the last 10 years on how to correct that," said Tart, who joined the club in the mid-1980s. No one in the club, even senior members, can figure out how the error happened, he added.

Astoria Beneficial Club played a key role in another monument to Black history — a Brown's Island statue commissioned in part by the organization to commemorate the role Black boatmen played in commerce on the James River in the 19th century.

The original fiberglass statue, "The Headman," was dedicated in May 1988. A year later, the boatman was removed from his wooden boat. The statue was found a few weeks later in a Hanover County quarry, riddled with bullets. Artist Paul DiPasquale re-sculpted his work in clay. A bronzed version of "The Headman" was dedicated in November 1993.

The statuary landscape looks much more diverse today.

The Virginia Civil Rights Memorial at the state Capitol celebrates the triumph over Massive Resistance; a plaza commemorating banker, businesswoman and civic leader Maggie L. Walker stands at the gateway to Jackson Ward, three blocks from the Robinson statue. And in 2021, The Emancipation and Freedom Monument joined The Headman on Brown's Island.

The Astoria Beneficial Club may make little mention of it. But the dancer descending that staircase in Jackson Ward represents a pivotal step in representation.

Demonstrators are arrested and charged with trespassing at Thalhimers department store on Feb. 22, 1960. Those arrested would not leave after being refused service at a tearoom and a lunch counter.

Crowd inside Thalhimers department store the day of demonstration and arrests. Photo was not published. Photo taken Feb. 22, 1960. Was received by Times-Dispatch library on February 23, 1960

The Rev. Frank Pinkston, a 23-year-old Baptist ministerial student from Silver Springs, Fla., is arrested and charged with trespassing at Thalhimers department store on Feb. 22, 1960. Those arrested would not leave after being refused service at a tearoom and a lunch counter.

Crowd at city lock-up after 34 demonstrators were arrested and charged with trespassing at Thalhimers department store. Those arrested would not leave after being refused service at a tearoom and a lunch counter.

Front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch from Feb. 23, 1960. An article about arrests at the Thalhimers sit-in is in the bottom right corner.

The story that ran on the Feb. 23, 1960 front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Page 4 of the Richmond Times-Dispatch from Tuesday, February 23, 1960.

Photo from page 4 of the Richmond Times-Dispatch from Feb. 23, 1960.

Published caption: "Mounted and K-9 Squad Policemen Break Up Crowd at Lock-Up After Arrests"

Thalhimers picket and protest

Thalhimers picket and protest.

Thalhimers picket and protest

LeRoy Bray arrested at Thalhimers department store as students from Virginia Union University attempt to get service in whites-only dining areas.

Frank Pinkston, lower right, at Thalhimers department store, outside the Richmond Room, Feb. 22, 1960, in an attempt to be seated in segregated dining areas.

Protest at Thalhimers department store in downtown Richmond as Virginia Union University students attempted to get served in whites-only dining areas. Dr. Marshall Banks is at left, against the wall. Cornell Moore is behind him.

Pickets outside Thalhimers department store in downtown Richmond as Virginia Union University students attempted to get served in whites-only dining areas.

Frank Pinkston, lower right, at Thalhimers department store, outside the Richmond Room, Feb. 22, 1960, in an attempt to be seated in segregated dining areas.

Protest at Thalhimers department store in downtown Richmond as Virginia Union University students attempted to get served in whites-only dining areas.

Thalhimers picket and protest.

Elizabeth Johnson Rice was the speaker of the "Civil Rights Day of Remembrance" at the former Thalhimers Department Store on Broad Street on Sunday, February 22, 2004. Rice returned to Richmond to commemorate the 44th anniversary of their protest over lunch counter segregation.

Viewers stand under umbrellas on Feb. 22, 2010 during the unveiling of a marker commemorating the Thalhimers sit-in and the Richmond 34.

Elizabeth Thalhimer-Smartt (left) and Elizabeth Johnson-Rice pull back the cover over a marker commemorating the Thalhimers sit-in and the Richmond 34 on Feb. 22, 2010.

Rev. Leroy M. Bray, Jr. photographed Wed. Feb. 10, 2010 in Richmond. Mr. Bray was one of 34 VUU students arrested for defying segregation and will be speaking at 50th anniversary events.

Elizabeth Johnson Rice, one of the 34 VUU students arrested in 1960 lunch-counter sit-in at Thalhimers.

Elizabeth Johnson Rice in her VUU yearbook photo

Del. Mamye E. BaCote, D-Newport News, center, received a standing ovation during the floor session of the House of Delegates in Richmond on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010. BaCote had just revealed that she was one of the "Richmond 34" who staged a sit-in at the all-white Thalhimers lunch room when she was a student at Virginia Union University.

Ford T. Johnson of Maryland unveils the historical marker commemorating the "Richmond 34," a group of mostly 34 Virginia Union University students arrested during a sit-in at the Thalhimers department store. Johnson, who is one of the 34, was accompanied by three others who took part in the sit-in: (from left): Johnson's sister, Elizabeth Johnson Rice; Raymond B. Randolph Jr. of Farmington Hills, Michigan (third from left); and Wendell Foster of Richmond (fourth from left). The unveiling took place along Broad Street, between 6th and 7th streets on June 28, 2016.

Elizabeth Johnson Rice speaks during the unveiling of an historical marker commemorating the 1960 "Richmond Sit-In" of 34 Virginia Union University students at the Thalhimers department store lunchroom. Rice is one of the 34 students who took part in the sit-in. The ceremony took place on Broad Street between 6th and 7th Streets. June 28, 2016.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, right, welcomed the Rev. Leroy M. Bray, Jr., left, and his wife, Cynthia, center to the Executive Mansion in Richmond on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. They were part of a group of black leaders, some of whom were members of the Richmond 34, who stages a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch counter in 1960.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, right, talks with Rev. Dr. Claude Perkins, left, and his wife Cheryl, center, inside the Executive Mansion in Richmond, on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. They were part of a group of black leaders, some of whom were members of the Richmond 34, who staged a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch counter in 1960.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, left,, welcomed Dr. Roland Moore, right, and his wife, Blanche, center, to the Executive Mansion in Richmond, VA Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. They were part of a group of black leaders, some of whom were members of the Richmond 34, who staged a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch counter in 1960.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, left, welcomed, from left, retired judge Birdie Hairston Jamison, Dr. Anderson J. Franklin and Elizabeth Rice to the Executive Mansion in Richmond on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. They were part of a group of black leaders, some of whom were members of the Richmond 34, who staged a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch counter in 1960. Franklin and Rice were two of the original 34.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, center, welcomed black leaders and some members of the Richmond 34 to the Executive Mansion in Richmond on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. They were part of a group of black leaders, some of whom were members of the Richmond 34, who staged a sit-in at Thalhimer's lunch counter in 1960.

Virginia First Lady Pam Northam, left, watches as her husband, Governor Ralph Northam, right, talks with Rev. Dr. Claude Perkins, center left, and his wife Cheryl, center right, inside the Executive Mansion in Richmond on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. The Perkins were part of a group of black leaders, visiting the Mansion, some of whom were members of the Richmond 34, who staged a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch counter in 1960.

Rev. Dr. Claude Perkins, left, and his wife Cheryl, second from left, talk with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and First Lady Pam Northam inside the Executive Mansion in Richmond on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. The Perkins were part of a group of black leaders, visiting the Mansion, some of whom were members of the Richmond 34, who staged a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch counter in 1960.

Elizabeth Johnson Rice, center, surrounded by lawmakers and several other original members of the Richmond 34, were honored by the House of Delegates inside the State Capitol in Richmond on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. The Richmond 34 staged a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch room in 1960.

Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, left, stands with Elizabeth Johnson Rice, center, surrounded by several other original members of the Richmond 34, from left, Dr. Anderson J. Franklin, Rev. Leroy M. Bray, Jr. and Wendell Foster, pose after they were honored by the House of Delegates inside the State Capitol in Richmond on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. The Richmond 34 staged a sit-in at Thalhimers lunch room in 1960.

Michael Paul Williams (804) 649-6815

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