Title : Underground Railroad Lantern Statue
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Underground Railroad Lantern Statue
A lawn jockey is a small statue of 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. Lawn jockey statues depicting slaves holding lanterns are racist.
A ribbon was left hanging on the statue if a green ribbon was hanging it indicated safety but if there was a red ribbon hanging it was an indication to keep moving.
Underground railroad lantern statue. When the image of a black footman with a lantern signified the home was a stop on the underground railroad although the custom was primarily seen in the northern states the jockeys were eventually brought down south just after wwii as people moved for various reasons. These statues were used as markers on the underground railroad throughout the south into canada. Lawn jockey statues are racist disputed.
I often get asked about my lantern footman sitting in my front yard says sandra dee mcnair a proud african american owner of a lawn jockey who believes that the image of a black footman with a lantern signified the home was a stop on the underground railroad she is not the only one. Lawn jockey supporters argue that these black footman statues are works of americana art. It s unclear where exactly black lawn jockey statues came from and what they re meant to represent.
The clothing of the statue was also coded. Then if you fast forward to during the underground railroad when you went to a house that had this jockey there and the lantern was on it was the safe houses for the underground railroad. Abolitionist would set the statues out to signify the home was a safe stop on the underground railroad.
A striped jockey s shirt meant that this was a place to swap horses while a footman in a tailed coat meant overnight lodgings food and a blue sailor s waistcoat meant the homeowner could take you. Statue not racist not underground railroad either dear editor i read with great interest the recent article regarding the local controversy over the appropriateness of a black lawn jockey sited in front of an historic home statue irks but is historical sept. Tying a green ribbon on a lawn ornament meant an underground railroad supporter lived in a home.
The jockey in a similarly secret way pointed to safe houses along the underground railroad. The lawn ornament popular in certain parts of the united states in years past when was a cast replica usually about half scale or smaller usually of a man dressed in jockey s clothing and. But escaping slaves understood then that the jockey statue would guide them to the underground railroad and to freedom these statues were used as markers on the underground railroad.
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