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. [4] 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.

Feb 18, 2022 · An August 2020 Facebook post recycles the long-standing claim that Black lawn jockey statues are not a product of the country’s racist past, but a relic of the Underground Railroad, a system of...

Feb 25, 2018 · He was a son of a free black man according to the stories and died for a greater cause. Moved by his devotion, General Washington ordered a statue of him, the Faithful Groomsman, to be placed in his honor at his estate in Mount Vernon, that in a way was probably the first lawn jockey ever made.

Apr 28, 2017 · Jocko Graves was a young African American boy whose service during the American Revolutionary War earned him the commemorative statue, the “lawn jockey.” Graves’s story is a short and tragic one. It begins on Christmas Eve, December of 1776, with General George Washington crossing the Delaware River to battle the British Army.

Sep 17, 2006 · To some the lawn jockey is a pint-size monument to repugnant stereotypes, a holdover from the days of slavery and Jim Crow. But others, including some historians and collectors of African...

Feb 8, 1998 · While many stories about the black lawn jockey’s origin abound, one of the more popular ones has it that George Washington created the first Faithful Groomsman in honor of a frozen slave.

The lawn jockey is a lawn ornament or hitching post resembling a horse jockey.1 The lawn jockey’s origins are shrouded in mystery, but there is no doubt that the typical black lawn jockey’s appearance reflects racist stereotypes.

Feb 24, 2016 · Many may not know or recognize the lawn jockey because these statues are not as prevalent today as they were in the past, but most historians consider them to be symbols of freedom. These small statues, dressed like a slave, held …