Twin-City herald. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1927-1940, 1932-04-30
Bill Robinson
CONTINUED from Page y

.gotiation the management arranged
TO turn over one complete perform
9 ance~ to my people. / insisted that no
other group be allowed to enter de-
spite the heavy demand for seats from
whites. Many Of them came UP to me
In front Of the theater the night Of
the performance importuning me to
ask the management to allow them to
Tee the show with my people. But !
refused--if my people could not be
admitted on the same terms with 9TH
ers, felt that other people had 40
business being admitted at this time.
Previously when / found out the state
81. affairs in that city ! had talked
with the manager Of the Walker,
which has a large Negro patronage.
offered to play special show for
the people at his house but he wanted
my company to play his house for
practically nothing. This same man
owns q downtown house in the same
city that am told does not expect
our people. After went to the
trouble of arranging the performance
and accommodations, somebody hired
four men to parade as pickets before
the theater. The 1,765 persons who
crowded into the theater paid scant
attention to the pickets. If had not
been approached by Indianapolis peo-
pie, I would never have worried three
or four days in an effort to make the
arrangements for the affair.
= AS far as the INDIANAPOLIS
" RECORDER is concerned / want to
state through the columns of the
HERALD that their attempt to dis
credit me doesn't mean thing to the
public. If this paper understood the
ethics of their profession and had
wanted to be fair at least the editor
could have sent representative to
obtain my side of the affair. If Mr.
Marcus Stewart is newspaper man,
4 am the president of the United
States"
Demands Retraction From Recorder
an reference to the RECORDERS
: insinuation that shot man in New
York, such is ridiculous. have never
shot man in my life and if the
RECORDER does not print retrac-
ton ! will take steps to make them
prove I shot man.
= Because I am the highest paid
Negro performer in the world, many
small individuals and some Negro
newspapers have always attempted to
show me up unfavorably. If was
the gunman and roughneck that some
Of them have attempted to make me
appear, do the people think for one
minute that could continue to be the
highest paid Negro artist? I am
booked for AZ more weeks and l ex-
pect to continue to draw $4,000 per
week if / never go back to Indianapo-
lis; Every well informed newspaper
: man who knows the theatrical world
knows that am deputy sheriff in
New York county and therefore en-
titled to carry pistol for self pro-
lection. The Indianapolis chief of
police gave me courtesy letter the
minute l arrived in the city as do
most other police officials.
: AIN my opinion the story appearing
{ in the indianapolis paper will not in
jure my prestige with any of my
friends or the public in that city or
any other city. My record of helping
my people and the needy of all races
is an open book. might be consid-
cred an egotist but ! believe that if
there were so more 'Bojangles Bill
Robinsons in the show business,
!, things would be better for our people
everywhere.
:. Regards to the RECORDER
eff Mr.. Stewart had thought the
suggested show was bad thing for
his town, he could easily have sent
word to me. / visit his town only
every few years and I surely did not
make his Jim Crow laws and people
who know me know how I stand on
such matters.
81 hope Mr. Stewart and his RE-
CORDER much luck and success but
don't think they will get very far
by distorting stories about me or any
other colored man of prominence just
to make a hot story. will be fur
nishing work for go persons and
drawing my small salary for AZ
weeks at least and won't have to
come back to Indianapolis to do it.
"oyer .1,765 Indianapolis people of
my group appreciated my interest in
their amusement advantages enough
to pay to come to see my show. Pos
sibly some of Mr.. Stewards theater
advertisers would like to have re-
5 .ceiyed those 1,765 admissions.
Tam not in the habit of answering
attacks through the press, but recur-