Are Statues of Black Footmen/Jockeys Racist?

I grew up in northern Ohio in the 1950s, and I was always repulsed at the sight of a statue of a black footman/jockey. Even at a very young age I considered such figurines racist. a representation of a black man as a subservient slave. In fact, during those years,  my father once confronted a neighbor with such a statue in her front yard, and she replied, "Oh, I'm not racist, but isn't he such a cute n----r?" She obviously did not consider it in racial terms. To her it was yard art similar to a garden gnome. On the other hand, her use of the n-word revealed her true feelings.

For all the years since, I have regarded the owners of black footmen as racists, and in many cases, they were. 

However, more recently, I happened upon some interesting information which might contradict my assumptions and may cause me to reconsider.

Charles Blockson, a historian and collector of Underground Railroad memorabilia, claims that the presence of a black footman with a lantern indicated that the home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. If the lantern was lit or if a green scarf was attached to the footman's arm, the runaway slave knew the house was safe; if however,  a red flag was attached, the slave knew that he should not stop.

Some claim that even the clothing of the footman was a code. A striped shirt indicated this was a place to swap horses. A tailed coat meant overnight lodgings. A blue sailor's waistcoat meant this homeowner could get you to a port to depart for Canada.*

Not everyone accepts Mr. Blockman's theory, but even if the footman was some sort of code in the days of the Underground Railroad, it definitely no longer had that significance in the 20th century. Those who displayed it, did so for other reasons.

In addition, there is another theory as to the origin of of this particular yard ornament.  According to the River Road African American Museum, a 12-year old black boy, Jocko Graves, wanted to help George Washington cross the Delaware to attack the Hessian troops in Trenton. According to the story, Jocko was too young to join the Revolutionary effort, so he volunteered to watch Washington's horses, and then froze to death in doing so. To honor the boy's sacrifice, Washington reportedly commissioned a statue which became the basis for the modern lawn ornament of a black footman. 

The story of Jocko Graves appears to fall into the same category as young George chopping down a cherry tree. A story created more to demonstrate Washington's gratitude than Jocko's sacrifice. On the other hand,  the theory about the Underground Railroad may have some basis in fact. The slaves and the homeowners needed some means of communication and this method may have been used from time to time.

That being said, I still consider the black footman ornaments racist. I have a difficult time believing that those homeowners who display this black caricature are attempting to honor fugitive slaves and those who helped them.

Although the concrete footman no longer serves as a hitching post or a lantern bearer, some claim to display the figurines to recall the Old South or exhibit an equestrian theme, which is another way of honoring the good old days of segregation and Jim Crow, the days when a black man knew "his place" in society. More than being a welcome sign, the figurines tell us "This is White space." And, of course, "Blacks are not welcome."

If collectors of Americana want to preserve examples of the black footmen as part of our past, they should be careful to make clear these modern caricatures (large lips and protruding eyes) represent  repugnant symbols of subservience to African Americans. Their only value is that they remind us that some white citizens in the 20th century had a need to ostensibly tell African Americans that they were second class citizens.

*Snopes labels Blockman's theory as "unproven."  

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