To understand the Harlem Renaissance we need to understand the experience of blacks before the 1920s. From 1619, the beginning of slavery in the Americas, up until the Harlem Renaissance African-Americans have went through a tough history in the United States. In 1860 they went through the civil war and Abolition of slavery by the 13th amendment in 1865. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was an American Tap dancer and actor during the Harlem Renaissance. Bill Robinson was Born, William Luther Robinson on May 25, 1878 in Richmond Virginia. The nickname Bojangles came to be his nickname from the word Jangler meaning contentious. The name started when he was young and stuck throughout his career. As a boy he was orphaned and began his tap-dancing career at age six. Bill Robinson’s form of tap-dancing changed Tap from a flat-footed dance to pushing the dancer up on his toes. Throughout his career Bill Robinson had many successful appearances and highlights. His most famous act is most likely the famous stair dance. Bojangles appeared in 14 films mostly along side Shirley Temple. With Shirley Temple he danced along side her in the 1935 movie “The Little Colonel”. Bill Robinson was also in the cotton club and was headlined with Cab Calloway several times. Although the struggles with racial tension in his art, Bill Robinson conquered both stage and screen and triumphed as a legend of Harlem.
