James Robinson

James Robinson, former Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Community Resources and lifelong Greenburgh resident, discusses growing up as a young black male here with interviewee Tina Harper. 

Watch the full interview here:

JAMES ROBINSON

James Robinson, a longtime Greenburgh resident born and raised in the town, recounts many experiences growing up in a diverse community and the influence the Theodore D Young Community Center had on him.

James was one of the first black people to grow up in a housing authority in Greenburgh, and though he found the town itself to be very diverse in its schools and housing, he found largely divided lines between other nearby towns and Greenburgh. He would often recount going to the community center as a haven from his worries and looked up to those who worked in the building. One man at the center, in particular, Mr. Young, treated him like a son and “adopted” many others in the community. He would take them on road trips, and there, James grew to see how other areas of the country were not quite as diverse as Greenburgh. The issue of race became especially clear soon after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. He felt as though there was a fundamental shift in American society. James heard of riots and upticks in violence nearby, as well as many struggles that made him really understand the gravity of the situation. 

He began to understand the importance of involvement in black children's lives and the influence the many role models in the community had on him and others. So he continues to emphasize being “involved in your children's life; it's vital that parents, mother, and dads support their children and be actively involved in their lives, whether they are basketball players or going to a piano recital.”