Bojangles

I admittedly knew nothing about Bo Jangles but the name going into this movie. I knew he was an entertainer of some sort, but not quite sure what form of entertainment.

"Bojangles" is a biopic about a Black tap dancer named Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (played by Gregory Hines). Per the movie, he was a performer from the teens to the fifties and the highest paid Black performer during his prime. He wrestled with gambling problems and the problem all Balck people dealt with: racism. He began his career doing Vaudeville and performing in black face. How ironic is that? A Black man performing in black face so that the white audience could feel as though they're watching a white performer.

"Bojangles," if it's anything, it's informative and educational. The movie inspired me to know more about Bill Robinson. I know that it became en vogue for some African Americans to criticize Bojangles for the degrading roles he played, but what other roles could he have played? At that time it was a major feat just to be on stage or in a film as a Black person, so we definitely weren't calling the shots. "Bojangles" explores that conundrum while taking us through the years of Bill Robinson's professional life. It wasn't a cinematic wonder, but it is worth watching.