Our park carries a name worth knowing.

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was born Luther Robinson on May 25, 1878, right here in Richmond, Virginia. He grew up in the Jackson Ward neighborhood - then known as the "Harlem of the South" - and began dancing in the streets as a child to earn pennies. That restless energy never left him.

From Richmond to the world's stage.

Robinson went on to become one of the most celebrated tap dancers of the 20th century. He performed in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in Hollywood, earning the nickname "The King of Tap." His signature stair dance - a routine he performed with a lightness and precision that seemed impossible - made him a legend.

In the 1930s, he starred alongside Shirley Temple in a string of popular films, becoming one of the first Black performers to share top billing with a white co-star in Hollywood. It was a milestone that didn't go unnoticed, even if the industry around him was far from equal.

He gave back.

Robinson was as generous as he was gifted. He was known throughout New York and Richmond for acts of quiet community support - paying for street improvements in Richmond out of his own pocket, giving freely to neighbors in need, and using his platform to lift others where he could.

He died on November 25, 1949, in New York City. The city of New York shut down traffic on Broadway for his funeral procession. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets.

Why it matters here.

This park bearing his name is a reminder that Church Hill has always produced people worth celebrating - and that community spirit, the kind Robinson embodied, is something worth tending to.