The lawn jockey is a statue depicting a man in jockey clothes, intended to be placed in front yards as hitching posts, similar to those of footmen bearing lanterns near entrances and gnomes in gardens. The lawn ornament, popular in certain parts of the United States and Canada in years past, was a cast replica, usually about half-scale or smaller, generally of a man dressed in jockey's clothing and holding up one hand as though taking the reins of a horse. Historically, black jockeys depicting racist caricatures of African Americans were commonplace.
A lawn jockey at the entrance to a house in St. Louis, Missouri.
Several styles have been produced, with the most prolific being a shorter version commonly known as "Jocko" and a taller version known as "cavalier spirit". The former is of stockier build, with a hunched posture; the latter generally is more slender. The earlier "Jocko" design usually depicts the right arm raised, and was styled as a racist caricature of a young black boy, often with exaggerated features, such as big eyes with the whites painted in; large lips painted red; a large, flat nose and curly hair. Typically, these pieces were painted in gaudy colors for the uniform as with racing colors, with the flesh of the statue a gloss black.
The "cavalier spirit" design usually depicts the left arm raised and uses the likeness of a white young man, lacking the minstrelsy features of its Jocko counterpart. These statues would also be painted in stark colors, with skin in either gloss black or pastel pink, red lips, etc., white breeches, black boots, and usually with the vest and cap of either bright red or dark green. Occasionally, the vest and cap might be painted in the bright shades of a jockey's racing silks.
Apocryphal accounts of the figure's origin portray the statue as representing a hero of African-American history and culture. There is a common story that black lawn jockeys are a recreation of a black boy who served George Washington in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
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An illustration of Jocko Graves, the supposed origin of the black lawn jockey.
The story says that the boy, named Jocko Graves, was left behind as Washington considered it too dangerous for him to cross the Delaware River with the men. Graves was too young to take into battle so was left to tend the horses and keep a lantern lit for the troops’ return. According to the legend, Jocko was so faithful that he froze to death while holding the lantern.
Another story, popularized by American historian Charles L. Blockson, says that District Judge Benjamin Piatt had tied a flag to a lawn jockey as a signal to fleeing slaves that it was safe to stop there. But neither story has been confirmed by historians, pointing to the likelihood that these objects came to being in the Jim Crow era, a time after the Reconstruction period (1865-77) following the Civil War, when federal law provided civil rights protection to free Blacks. Jim Crow laws reinforced “separate but equal” segregation, remaining in effect until 1965.
The "Jocko" Caricature and Its Implications
The “Jocko” lawn jockey is a black-face caricature with stooping posture, counter to the “cavalier spirit” or white lawn jockey, which is upright and noble. Alarmingly, these ornaments are still prevalent. The earlier "Jocko" design usually depicts the right arm raised, and was styled as a racist caricature of a young black boy, often with exaggerated features, such as big eyes with the whites painted in; large lips painted red; a large, flat nose and curly hair. Typically, these pieces were painted in gaudy colors for the uniform as with racing colors, with the flesh of the statue a gloss black.
Russell L. Adams, chairman of the Afro-American studies department at Howard University, said their enormous iconic power cuts across time and place. "The first time you see it, you have a specific reaction - almost like a flashback that you didn't know was a flashback," Adams said. His first encounter with one amazed and angered him - especially the figure's stooped, unmistakably servile posture.
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The Lawn Jockey in Popular Culture
In media and popular culture, lawn jockeys sometimes appear as a prop or conversation piece, in most cases merely trivial and non-notable in nature, although notable racial connotations are often associated with earlier examples of lawn jockeys versus more modern contemporary examples. Sometimes a reference to a lawn jockey is used to illustrate a racist or race-based point in popular culture. For example, in a Season 1 episode of The Golden Girls, Sophia makes a subtle hint at Blanche's Southern American roots being steeped in racism, suggesting to the woman that she "tar and feather the neighbour's lawn jockey" in order to make her father feel at home during his visit to the more liberal city of Miami, Florida.
In All in the Family, the gift of a black lawn jockey is bestowed to main character Archie Bunker to annoy him, owing to his reputed racial bigotry, although in an unexpected twist, Archie actually finds the racist gift inappropriate and bothersome, refusing to put it out on his own property. Lawn jockeys are often associated with wealthy white American families in popular culture, either for satire and sociopolitical symbolism, or for legitimate aesthetic appeal.
Raymond Chandler's 1942 Philip Marlowe novel The High Window features a lawn jockey decorating the Pasadena home of Marlowe's clients, the wealthy but dysfunctional Murdock family. Lawn jockeys are often referenced in relation to Blanche Devereaux's Southern family in The Golden Girls, often as a subtle implication that Blanche's family (who lived on a plantation and, historically, owned slaves) are racist. Despite this, Blanche is not racist herself, nor are her children or her father, "Big Daddy" Hollingsworth. Curb Your Enthusiasm's season 12 episode 2 is entitled "The Lawn Jockey".
Andy Fox reports on lawn jockey controversy
Nick Cave's "Until" and the Reclamation of Racist Objects
This history led to Cave’s most complex work to date: Until (2016). Nick Cave: Until is a visual arts exhibition filled with deeper meaning beneath its colorful, shiny surface. Cave desires to rescue these objects, remembering the pride and care that his own family took in handling this “art” when he was young. However, in his searches for material, he became alarmed at the proliferation of racist memorabilia he discovered.
One item Cave has used repeatedly (and which populates Until) is the lawn jockey. In an interview with art21, Cave explains his interest in these jockeys. “I was collecting objects that speak about nostalgic moments in history. For example, I found 17 Black lawn jockeys. I am interested in the repressed, dark, and racial commentary embodied in these artifacts.
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“The lawn jockeys…are all holding beaded dream catchers-my effort to speak about optimism,” said Cave in an interview with art21. “I’m taking a stance. Yes, these objects are out there, in the space of disparity and repression, but I do not operate there. I’m responding to it by designing my own pathway and creating my own lifestyle.
| Statue Type | Historical Context | Modern Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Black "Jocko" | Racist caricature during Jim Crow era | Object of controversy, sometimes reclaimed as art |
| White "Cavalier Spirit" | Often devoid of racist connotations | Aesthetic lawn ornament |
