Totally different but is this true?
TODAY'S HISTORY LESSON: THE BLACK LAWN JOCKEY (footman).
These days people don't know the real meaning behind these statues, so they vandalize them, and think of them as racist, etc. The history of the black 'footman' with a lantern is the exact opposite. Its meaning signified that the home was a stop …
TODAY'S HISTORY LESSON: THE BLACK LAWN JOCKEY (footman).
These days people don't know the real meaning behind these statues, so they vandalize them, and think of them as racist, etc. The history of the black 'footman' with a lantern is the exact opposite. Its meaning signified that the home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. These were largely a northern thing, and weren't commonly found in the South until after WWII when northerners moved there and brought this custom with them. The clothing of the statue was also coded. A striped jockey's shirt meant that this was a place to swap horses, while a footman in a tailed coat meant overnight lodging and/or food, and a blue sailor's waist coat meant the homeowner could take you to a port and get you on a ship to Canada. Later, these came back into popularity after WWII, and they were again coded. Mostly to show that the white homeowners supported early civil rights efforts, and were NOT Klan members, etc. These statues are something we should be proud of because they led a lot of people to their freedom and they also represent the bravery and support of the homeowner's that risked their homes, themselves and their families for the struggle of freedom and equality.
Wow--I had no idea of this was the history of the lawn jockey! They were common enough when I was growing up but I was taught that they are a racist trope. A very dear--and tragically recently departed--former colleague and friend Pellom McDaniels, who was an historian of African American culture, wrote a book that got published a few years ago on the most famous jockey of the 19th century: The Prince of Jockeys: The Life of Isaac Burns Murphy. His fame was such that I assumed after hearing about Pellom's research over the years that he was the model for the lawn jockey.
Totally different but is this true?
TODAY'S HISTORY LESSON: THE BLACK LAWN JOCKEY (footman).
These days people don't know the real meaning behind these statues, so they vandalize them, and think of them as racist, etc. The history of the black 'footman' with a lantern is the exact opposite. Its meaning signified that the home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. These were largely a northern thing, and weren't commonly found in the South until after WWII when northerners moved there and brought this custom with them. The clothing of the statue was also coded. A striped jockey's shirt meant that this was a place to swap horses, while a footman in a tailed coat meant overnight lodging and/or food, and a blue sailor's waist coat meant the homeowner could take you to a port and get you on a ship to Canada. Later, these came back into popularity after WWII, and they were again coded. Mostly to show that the white homeowners supported early civil rights efforts, and were NOT Klan members, etc. These statues are something we should be proud of because they led a lot of people to their freedom and they also represent the bravery and support of the homeowner's that risked their homes, themselves and their families for the struggle of freedom and equality.
Cool. Can you post a link to information about this so people can read more?
I've got a transcribed interview with some information (Lawn Jockey Legends - 2020 - Question for the Museum - Jim Crow Museum) https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/question/2020/april.htm
Wow--I had no idea of this was the history of the lawn jockey! They were common enough when I was growing up but I was taught that they are a racist trope. A very dear--and tragically recently departed--former colleague and friend Pellom McDaniels, who was an historian of African American culture, wrote a book that got published a few years ago on the most famous jockey of the 19th century: The Prince of Jockeys: The Life of Isaac Burns Murphy. His fame was such that I assumed after hearing about Pellom's research over the years that he was the model for the lawn jockey.